No more secrets
by Galaxy956
Summary: As a startling Texas night upset the balance of the most beautiful friendship, two young teens find themselves in a struggle over the heart of a young cowboy. Starting with slight changes to Girl meets Texas part 2 to major changes as the story develops.
1. Chapter 1

First fanfic, and first time posting anything I write. Let me know what you think and i'll work on improving my writing flaws.

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As Zay left the group with Vanessa, a silence filled the Texas night. Riley looked at her three friends and felt her eyes do more than a double take as she watched her best friend the "blonde beauty" and the boy she had been head over heels since the moment she laid her eyes on him.

As she watched them, thoughts of the day before ran through her mind. Finding out that your best friend, your sister had feelings for the same guy you did was a lot to take in. Even harder was the fact that she had stayed quiet all this time about her feelings, simply because she didn't want to get in the way of your happiness.

She had felt betrayed at first, the thought of her best friend liking the same guy she did and hiding it deeply hurt her. But as she thought things through, she felt less betrayed and more shocked that Maya had thrown any chance she had with Lucas out the window simply because she wanted Riley to be happy.

In the end she realized just like Maya had stepped back in order for Riley and Lucas to be together, after being a couple didn't work for them, no matter how much she still liked Lucas or what she felt for him, it was now time for Riley to step back and allow Maya a chance at happiness with "Mr. Perfect" Lucas Fryar.

Looking towards Farkle she used the excuse to buy him ice cream in order to give Maya and Lucas some time alone. Unfortunately for her Maya wouldn't let her leave so easily. Riley sighed as she knelt beside Maya and looked into her eyes. "You need to feel whatever you feel Maya", seeing the look in Maya's eyes, Riley continued before Maya could argue. "It's you and me forever, there is nothing that you could ever do to change that" emphasizing nothing she hoped Maya would stop feeling guilty and follow through with what she feels for Lucas without regret.

As usual though she could read the emotions running through her best friend's face. Realizing that Maya would never take the first step, Riley knew no matter how much it hurt she had to take that step for her. With one final glance and Maya, Riley stood and walked around Maya and took a seat next to where Lucas had been sitting.

She had been watching Lucas this whole time as well and he looked like he had no clue as to what they were talking about. Riley made up her mind that he deserved to know. With one final breathe she looked up into Lucas's eyes "Maya likes you".

"Riley!" Maya was shocked that Riley would just go and tell that to Lucas. As Lucas processed what was being said he looked from Riley to Maya with a confused look on his face as Riley kept talking. "She's been hiding it all this time, its why she couldn't watch you at the rodeo."

Maya felt deeply hurt at Riley's confession to Lucas, but she couldn't let Lucas know this was true, so attempting to pretend she didn't know what was going on she asked Riley what she was doing, while feigning ignorance.

Riley however wasn't going to simply let her hide behind her walls. She quickly stood and looking Maya straight in her eyes stated firmly "I saw you Maya, I saw how much you cared" As Maya held a defeated look in her eyes and turned to the fire, Riley looked back at Lucas and explained "It's why she makes fun of you, I think"

However, Lucas had enough of keeping silent, as he rose to his feet, he looked at Riley and demanded. "Riley what are we?"

That simple question brought so much pain to Riley's heart, as she tried to stay collected her voice softened as she spoke, "I told you what we are". Lucas intensified his gaze and let her know what he felt "what if that's not what I think we are?"

Out of both of their views, Maya's heart crumbled after hearing those words. Even though she felt like a horrible friend for how she felt about Lucas, hearing him basically confirm he still had romantic feelings for Riley crushed any sliver of hope her heart had left.

Riley did not take Lucas's words easily either, fighting the tears she felt coming she forced herself to continue her goal, "Well then…. You better start thinking of us like that."

Trying to leave as quickly as she could so she wouldn't break down in front of them she was stopped by Lucas's voice calling her name.

Not giving him a chance to say anything else that could break the façade she had built up, she took a deep breath. "Lucas, we will always be there for each other", as he was left speechless she turned towards Maya. "You stepped back" Maya's eyes widened as she looked up at her best friend, "I know you stepped back."

Glancing at Lucas one final time she quickly walked away, being followed by Farkle who had stayed quiet and had felt it was best to leave Lucas and Maya alone.

Both Lucas and Maya were left shocked at what had just happened. "What's going on?" Lucas asked more to himself than to Maya. However, Maya trying to play things out and pretend to be just as confused responded by throwing her hands up in confusion and stating she was confused as well.

As Lucas took a seat right next to Maya he took of his cowboy hat, "I'm her brother now?" not quite understanding anything. Maya responded "apparently" as she continues to try and keep him from focusing on her.

Lucas sat still for a moment, as he processed more of what happened he set his hat on a rock and slowly turned towards the blonde to his right. "You like me?"

Just like Maya had always done before she hid behind her walls and denied it with a simply "No" and a fake amused look. Lucas didn't let up and continued his questioning, "Maya, why didn't you want me to ride in the rodeo?"

The blonde beauty stuck her ground "because... I didn't want you to win and get all conceited" she tried to sound sincere and used her mocking tone. Lucas however was not fooled "I don't think that's it". Maya insisted on denying it, retorted to mocking him using her country voice imitation.

He looked at Maya "I don't talk like that I just don't, why do you see me like that?" The questions were beginning to be too much for her to handle "of course I don't see you like that!"

Maya stood and walked over to the next log, "can we just look at this fire please". As he agreed with her, she sat on the log. Both teens looked at the fire with silence filling the night. Lucas couldn't help himself and looked over at Maya, who quickly caught him "Stop" she said in a slightly annoyed tone.

After continuing to look over at her 2 more time, Maya couldn't take it anymore "Could we just stop, I just want everything to stop, it's bad enough I've been keeping this secret from Riley all this time." She regretted her words as soon as Lucas asked what she meant.

Having no choice Maya explained that for a while she had thought of Riley and Lucas as just siblings, but keep it to herself instead of talking to Riley about it. "I just don't want to keep any more secrets from her."

Lucas stood, and brought the subject back to both of them, "So you don't make fun of me because you like me?" And Maya fearing her own response tried to ignore it "I'm just gonna watch this fire."

Even though Lucas could sense she didn't want to talk about it, he needed answers and she was the only person who could give him any at the time. "Maya, why do you make fun of me?' Having no choice Maya tried to brush it off once more, "Because you're easy to make fun of."

"Okay then stop", Maya wished it would be that easy to just stop. "Because you're a Huckleberry, because you're a Ranger Rick." Lucas having enough of the name calling at a time like this kept trying to make her stop. "Would you stop?"

Having reached her breaking point Maya snapped at Lucas, "look if I had feelings for you, don't you think I would just come out and say it." She stepped closer to Lucas with every word, "well I don't," with her final words she leaned in "so what I do say is hu hurrr."

Not knowing what came over him at that moment, Lucas stepped forward and placed his hands on the sides of Maya's face. A soft gasp escaped Maya's lips as she felt Lucas's hands encasing her face, she started wide eyed at the Texas boy, as she held her breathe. She hated herself at this moment, she hated that she wanted it so much, she hated that she loved how his touch felt.

Lucas, one moment he was looking into the blonde's eyes, until he found his eyes suddenly focused on her lips. Before he knew what he was doing, his lips were pressed against the fiery blonde's lips. No coherent thought ran through his mind as he enjoyed the feeling of her lips against his.

As soon as Lucas's lips had touched hers, any thought of Riley or anyone else faded into oblivion. She felt herself melt against the cowboy and responded to the kiss.

After what seemed like minutes but was less than 10 seconds, Lucas suddenly was brought back into reality and pulled away from Maya. He looked at her and saw a broken girl near tears. As she shook her head, she was barely able to let out a small whisper, "why did you do that?"

She needed to know why Ranger Rick had done something like that, why would he do that if he liked Riley. A panicked look fell onto Lucas, "I don't know I just wanted you to stop, please don't tell my sister."

Anger fueled inside of her, his last words struck her hard. He regretted what he did and didn't want Riley to know, because he still had feelings for her. She hated herself for allowing him to do that to her while he had feelings for her best friend. "You couldn't think of another way to stop me?' Maya was so confused at everything that had happened.

Lucas watched her and stammered to answer "Not at the time, no, I'm sorry..." Looking at him, she knew she couldn't be upset with him for what had happened, she sighed and her final walls finally crumbled. "You don't have to be sorry Huckleberry, of course I like you." This only left Lucas silent, "you're a good guy, if you got hurt I don't know what I would have done."

Maya fell silent and sat back down as she once more looked at the fire. Lucas keep staring at the girl in front of him still confused at the day's events. He slowly sat next to her and keep watching Maya. Feeling his gaze upon her, she sighed "I don't want to have any more secrets from her"

As she turned towards Lucas, they both stared at each other, before turning back to the fire. Lucas knowing that Maya would not be able to keep this from Riley, was at a loss for words at what would happen between him and Riley, and what would change between him and Maya from now on.

Maya absolutely hated herself for what had happened, and even though she feared the consequences of Riley finding out about what happened, she knew she had to tell her best friend, she had to tell her sister.

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Now an actual story, not just a one-shot. This chapter is the only one that follows for the most part by the book what happened in the show. The other chapters may contain some parts from the episodes that still fit the story but for the most part each chapter takes on a different approach than the series did apart from some references and/or similar plot or a few lines.


	2. Chapter 2

My thoughts and what should have happened the morning after the campfire. Simply feel that they could've done something important instead of just having Lucas talk to the bull and the sheep. It had good represetation of the girls, but more could be done/explored with that morning before they left back home.

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When Maya finally showed up to the room her and Riley were sharing, everyone seemed to be asleep. And they were, all except one heartbroken Pretty Brunette. Riley had stayed up worried sick, she knew she wanted Maya to be happy but she still had feelings for Lucas, and knowing something could be happening between them broke the happy go lucky teen.

So she waited, she waited for what felt like hours, each passing second crushing her heart more and more. Even though she had given her okay to Maya, she still hoped nothing would happen between them. But as more time passed all hope she had faded, why would they not be back yet if nothing had happened? What exactly had happened? She needed to know, but at the same time did not want to know.

Finally, Riley heard the door to the room open as Maya walked in. Riley pretended to be asleep but kept one eye slightly open and watched Maya. She saw her best friend sit down on her bed and look towards her with a look of guilt. That look was enough to completely break her heart. That look confirmed that something had happened.

After a few minutes Maya finally went to bed, meanwhile Riley simply started at the ceiling with tears down her cheeks until sleep won her over.

When morning finally came neither Maya nor Riley wanted to get out of bed. But Riley forced a big smile and shook her best friend awake. "Wake up Maya, time for breakfast" with a groan Maya sat up and mumbled "fine" all the while avoiding looking at her best friend's face.

As Maya made her way to the bathroom she bumped into the last person she wanted to be near. She looked up at the cowboy as he wore bed hair very well. Maya couldn't help but bit her lip just looking at him. Lucas didn't notice this, not because he was clueless, he was simply too busy admiring Maya.

After what had happened last night, he couldn't help but look at Maya a bit differently, seeing her with a messy head of hair and simple clothes, he couldn't help but stay in awe at how truly beautiful the blonde was.

As Riley came out of the room, she stopped dead in her tracks at the sight. Her best friend and the guy she strongly liked were standing inches apart just staring at each other not saying a word. She wanted to be happy for them, but couldn't help feel pain. Putting up a brave face she walked past them "hurry up guys, foods getting cold."

Breakfast didn't go too well. Riley put up a fake smile and tried to act normal. Farkle was to nervous say a word, and Zay tried making conversation but was mostly ignored. Lucas and Maya were deadly silent; neither spoke a word nor looked up from their plate.

Heading back to their respected rooms, everyone started packing. Maya kept glancing at Riley, what had happened with Lucas was eating her up. She couldn't keep quiet any longer, "Riley.."

Hearing the tone of Maya's voice made Riley's heart abruptly stop. She knew what was coming, they were best friends after all, of course Maya would tell her everything. She took a deep breath, and turned to her friend, "what is it Maya?"

"You need to know what happened last night…" Fighting back everything she was feeling Riley gave Maya a smile, "Maya, I'm not going to get involved in that, whatever happened is between you two" walking up to her best friend Riley placed her hand on her shoulder, "Maya, just feel what you two feel, and be happy you deserve it" Hearing Riley say those words once again did not make it easier, especially considering last night's events. "Hurry up and pack up, we leave in an hour."

After a few minutes of packing Maya excused herself and walked outside the house. She couldn't believe how Riley was handling the situation, she hated herself for what she felt, meanwhile there was Riley pushing her towards Lucas.

Lost in her thoughts, Maya didn't notice she had some company. Turning around to go back inside she was met face to face with the guy that everything revolved around. "Maya... we need to talk" avoiding his gaze, the blonde shook her head, "there is nothing to talk about Lucas." Hoping he would give up, Maya started to walk around him. Lucas however was not satisfied with her answer and put his hand out to stop her, "Maya, look at me." Closing her eyes Maya pretended she hadn't heard a word. "Maya please," trying to force herself past Lucas to get away from the situation, Maya found herself being pulled by her arm.

Biting her lip, she opened her eyes and looked at the boy in front of her. This proved to be a mistake, as she found herself being reminded of last night and how much she enjoyed it. Maya quickly turned and bolted for the door. Unfortunately for her, being the athletic type, Lucas was much quicker than her. She found herself facing the door, with Lucas's hands placed on the door on both sides of her head. Shutting her eyes as tightly as she could, Maya tried to imagine herself anywhere else. Lucas's voice brought her back to reality, "Maya, I can't stop thinking about last night."

"Please just forget anything happened," pleaded Maya. "Look me in the eyes while you ask me that, and I'll do it," Lucas's voice sent shivers down her spine. Taking a deep breath, she turned and looked up at him. As she started into his eyes, Maya was at a loss for words, as much as she wanted to say those words, she couldn't bring herself to speak them. "Maya please, say those words, say them so that I can stop what I feel the need to do."

Biting her lip, her voice faltered "wha.. what do you feel th.. the need to do?' Shifting his gaze onto her lips, his words made her hold her breath. "I want to; no I need to feel it once more." As he leaned closer to her she didn't dare to take a breath as the world seemed to stop around them. As Lucas's lips was mere inches from hers, a familiar voice made them both jump. "Hey guys, what's taking…." On the other side of the door stood Farkle, sporting a shocked looked on his face based on what he had seen. Maya and Lucas were just about to kiss. He knew, Maya had feelings for Lucas, and suspected Lucas felt something for her as well. What he hadn't expected was them acting on it. Even if Riley had basically given the okay last night, he was sure that they would feel too guilty to act on any feelings, based on what they each felt for Riley.

"Guys what are you two doing?" Lucas looked away, and Maya quickly tried to defuse the situation, "nothing's happening Farkle, we were just heading back inside." She quickly sped inside, past Farkle and away from sight.

Clearing his throat, Lucas made his way inside, "gotta get going." Lucas was stopped by a hand against his chest, "Farkle?" Looking towards his friend, Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Listen Lucas, you're my best friend, and I want you to be happy." Farkle's tone was something he had never heard from the boy since they had met. "Riley and Maya mean the world to me," Farkle's gaze hardened "and I won't let anyone hurt them, that includes you too."

"Listen buddy, the last thing I want is to hurt them," removing Farkle's hand from his chest Lucas sighed. However, the freaky genius wasn't done, "you can't have feelings for Riley and make a pass on Maya, it doesn't matter if you like her too, you have to make a choice, Riley or Maya not both."

Lucas ran a hand through his hair, "I'm confused Farkle, I like Riley, but after last night I don't know how I feel about Maya." Eyeing his friend Farkle asked the question that had been on his mind since seeing how they acted this morning. "Lucas, what exactly happened last night?" Looking down in shame Lucas whispered, "I don't know how it happened but I kissed her, I kissed Maya Hart,"

Farkle was speechless, he had hoped to hear that things had just been awkward because Lucas now knew of Maya's feelings. Learning they had shared a kiss rocked him to his core, "Does Riley know?"

"I don't think so, but Maya said she wouldn't keep secrets from her anymore, so it won't be long." Looking at his best friend Farkle sighed, 'Lucas whatever you feel for Maya, you have to figure it out soon, because if you don't you'll lose them both." Leaving his friend to his thoughts the genius walked back to collect his things.

Lucas had never felt worse as a human being, Farkle was right. Even if Riley was fine with him and Maya being together, if he didn't figure out his feelings soon, he would hurt Maya, and Riley would not want anything to do with him, if he hurt her best friend. Looking out the window at the Texas sky, Lucas searched within his heart, for an answer. He searched for the truth.


	3. Chapter 3

For those interested in this stories updates, I would like to give you some sort of schedule. At least for now, this will be a weekly thing. Expect a chapter up Wednesdays at least for the next 4 weeks. If anything changes I will let you know. So unless my internet is down or i'm unable to get near my laptop for a whole day, expect a chapter next Wednesday and the same the following weeks.

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"Riley, wait up" ever since returning from Texas, Riley had been avoiding Maya anytime the blonde tried mentioning Lucas. She always had an excuse ready to either leave, or change the course of the conversation. All this running around, trying to get Riley to listen was driving Maya insane. She did not want to keep anything from Riley, and her not knowing what happened, made the guilt that much worse. Even now the brunette was speeding down the school hallways, as Maya tried to talk to her.

"You need to know what happened between me and Lucas," coming to a stop in front of their lockers, Riley faced her best friend. "Maya, a lot of things are going to happen, and it's okay." Looking into Maya's eyes, Riley's voice softened, "don't be scared of accepting your feelings."

"Riley, I can't" interrupting her best friend Riley spoke, "I liked the new boy, and you stepped back for me." Seeing Maya's saddened look, Riley took a deep breath, "then I saw how scared you were for him, I saw you more scared than I've ever seen you before." Not being able to look at her friend, Maya bit her lip and looked down. Grabbing her hand reassuringly, Riley continued "you need to feel whatever it is you feel." Softly squeezing Maya's hand, her voice faltered slightly, "you're my best friend, my sister, how could I ever keep you from that." Finally looking at the brunette, Maya was near tears "whatever happens, happens, it will change nothing between us, I love you Maya."

Nodding, the blonde fought back the tears and took a deep breath. "I love you too Riles," embracing her best friend in a hug, a small tear escaped the brunettes eye. Pulling back, Riley flashed Maya a big smile. Turning towards their classroom, the two teens started walking toward it, until the boy that made them both crazy almost bumped into them. Turning towards the two girls, Lucas was confused as to what he felt for each girl. His eyes met Maya's, noticing the sad look in her eyes. Mustering up the courage his voice barely sounded off in the noisy hallway, "hi."

Giving him a soft smile, Maya replied slightly awkwardly, "hey." Turning towards his pretty brunette and new-found "sister", Lucas sounded off an awkward, "hey." Trying to maintain a brave front Riley tried to sound normal, but ended up squeaking out an equally awkward "hi." Looking back and forth between the two girls, Lucas couldn't believe things had changed this drastically. "Wow," turning into the classroom, he shook his head as he tried to comprehend what just happened.

After the most awkward morning of classes, the group finally headed for lunch. As soon as the bell had rung Zay, quickly pushed Lucas to the side, separating them from the group. Raising an eyebrow, Lucas watched his friend. "Lucas, what the hell is going on?" Zay need answers, he wasn't slow, he knew something was up, hell the whole class noticed something was odd. "Nothing's up Zay," trying to avoid the conversation, Lucas tried to walk away. Being his best friend, Zay was not going to be lied to, and decided to cut to the chase. "I saw how strange you and Maya are acting, what did you two lovebirds do?"

Freezing in his tracks, Lucas scanned the area checking if anyone had heard Zay. Lucy for him, everyone else seemed to be in their own worlds. Turning towards his old friend, Lucas tried to play things off, "you're seeing things Zay." "Come on Lucas, we've known each other for years, I can tell you're lying," insisted Zay.

A sly smirk appeared on Zay's face, "don't tell me, you finally made your move on your blonde beauty?" Noticing Lucas's eyes widen at his words, Zay chuckled, "took you long enough buddy." Patting Lucas on his back, Zay smiled, "so when's the wedding?' Shoving his friend away, Lucas growled, "this isn't something to joke around about Zay."

Watching his friend's reaction, Zay sighed "Lucas what's wrong?" Slumping down against the lockers, Lucas closed his eyes, "I did something stupid Zay, and now everything's a mess." Sitting by his friend, Zay kept silent, not wanting to push Lucas too far. "I kissed Maya," not daring to interrupt Zay merely nodded as Lucas took a deep breath. "Then I almost kissed her again, the morning we came back." Dropping his head in shame, Lucas continued "I don't know why I did it man, Riley means a lot to me, but Maya..." Finally breaking his silence Zay piped in, "Maya makes you question everything." Nodding to his friend, the confused teen ran his hand over his head. "I wish we had never gone to Texas, it ruined what we had. Now I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

Patting Lucas's shoulder, Zay looked at the ceiling, "those girls are wonderful man, I'm not surprised you feel this way, just do what you can to figure things out."

Managing to survive the rest of the school day, the girls found themselves sitting by the iconic bay window. Even though, things were allegedly fine between them, an unconformable silence had filled the room for the past half hour. Having noticed the unfamiliar silence coming from her daughter's room, Topanga headed off towards her room to investigate. Even though she wished everything was fine, her motherly instincts were preparing her for the worst.

Opening the door to Riley's room, Topanga was even more confused. There in the bay window sat her daughter Riley and her best friend Maya. However, unlike all those other days this had happened, the girls seemed different. They were deadly silent, and avoiding looking at each other, fearing the worst Topanga took a deep breath, "hey girls, everything okay?"

Looking towards her mother, Riley put on the now iconic fake smile, "Of course mom, what could possibly be wrong?" Easily being able to read her daughter, Topanga knew something was off. Even if she had believed Riley what truly sold her was how Maya was acting. Keeping her head down, avoiding looking at anyone in the room, fidgeting with her hands, this was not the girl that usually sat with Riley at that window.

Walking over to the girls, Topanga sat down between them, in the unusual gap that was by them. Placing a hand over each of the girls legs, Topanga insisted "come on girls, I can tell something isn't right here." With a sigh, her daughter turned to her, "Mom nothing's wrong, I'm simply trying to convince Maya to feel what she feels." Turning towards the blonde, Topanga raised an eyebrow "and what is it that you feel Maya?"

Once more the feeling of guilt washed over Maya, she was ashamed of Topanga knowing the truth. She was like a second mother to the blonde, and not knowing what she would think, Maya looked away in shame. Seeing Maya act this way, was extremely worrying to Topanga, she loved Maya like a daughter, so seeing her this way wasn't easy for her to handle. "Maya …. what's wrong?" Putting her hand on her mom's shoulder Riley stepped in. "Mom …. in Texas we all found out something."

"Riley don't!" Startling Topanga, Maya shouted at her best friend. Taking a second to realize what happened, Riley spoke calmly. "Maya, you know my mom loves you, she should know, and could help you. She would never judge you." Nearing tears, the blonde looked straight ahead once again avoiding everyone's gaze. Turning towards her daughter, Topanga looked at her with a look signaling she was waiting. Taking this as her cue, Riley fought back her own emotions and spoke softly, "Maya... she has feelings for..." Taking a deep breath Riley forced out "for Lucas..."

Upon hearing her daughter's words, Topanaga's eyes widened. She now could see why the girls were acting strange, glancing at both girls she could see this revelation had deeply affected them both. "Maya, you think you like Lucas?" Sighing in defeat, Maya turned towards Topanga. "How can you not like him?" "Oh girls," placing an arm around both girls, Topanga pulled them close. "You know you can talk to me about anything." Nodding, both girls relaxed and closed their eyes as Topanga held them.

Finding herself in class once more, Maya found herself becoming extremely uncomfortable by today's lesson. Apparently Ms. Matthews had told Mr. Matthews what was going on, as he was now giving them a history lesson on the "Hoover Dam." Comparing the water the Damn holds back to teenage emotions, all the while glaring at Lucas, wasn't exactly subtle. Glancing at Riley, she could see she was uncomfortable as well, however Maya didn't dare look back towards Lucas as she couldn't look him in the eye without freezing up.

Out of the corner of her eye, Maya saw some students passing around a few pieces of paper. Thinking nothing of it, it quickly left her mind as she tried to get through Mr Matthews lesson. Brought back from her own thoughts Maya found a folded up paper in front of her. Turning to see who put it there, she noticed Riley had a paper as well. Both girls unfolded the paper and read it.

Both papers had the same message only put in different terms to fit who it was sent to. Maya's read, "Why are you and "Huckleberry" acting so weird? Did something happen? (: " Meanwhile Riley's note read "Since you and Maya are best friends, mind letting us know why her and her "Ranger Rick" are acting all weird?" This note only further broke the brunettes heart, being reminded that everyone saw Lucas and Maya as a couple over her and Lucas, way before Maya's feelings were known deeply hurt the brunette.

Maya was speechless, she hadn't noticed that the class had noticed how they had been acting weird. Whats more, they guessed exactly the reason for their strange behavior. Turning towards her best friend, Maya saw Riley glaring at her page. The look on her friend's face, was too much to handle. Before she knew what was happening, Maya found herself blurting out in front of the whole class "Riley, something happened between me and Lucas."

To say the class was shocked would be an understatement, sure they all took wild guesses as to what happened. But that is what they were meant to be wild guesses that could never happen. Hearing Maya's outburst, the whole class including Mr Matthews fells silent.

Turning towards Maya, Riley eyes shimmered as they were fighting back tears. Both girls looked at each other with broken expressions. As Riley faced Lucas, his eyes were widened and he swallowed a lump in his throat. "Oh boy" hearing Maya's confession and seeing Lucas's reaction, Riley knew nothing would ever be the same again.

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If you noticed I decided to leave out Charlie. I have nothing against the character, I just feel that the writers have done a whack job of developing his character. They bring him in in "girl meets yearbook" as a huge important part of the future of the series, and him and Lucas tell Riley she has to choose between them. By the end of the episode she hasn't made a choice, yet from then till part 3 of the Texas special Charlie doesn't appear or isn't even mentioned to the best of my knowledge. Just feel like they are taking a lazy stance with his character, so how he is now I don't see him being an important part of such a big part of the series. If his character grows better, then I have no problem bringing him in to add more "drama" to the story.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry for the late post. Been having problems with Time Warner for the last 5-6 days. Today they finally send someone to fix things, so things should be back on schedule now.

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Zay Babineaux, walked the halls of the school like he owned the place. Enjoying the freedom of not being in class. Sure Zay for the first time ever loved going to class, Mr. Matthews was a cool dude, and his friends were always there. However the rebel in Zay popped up every once in awhile and he would skip class. He would do this enough to satisfy him, but not enough to alert Mr. Matthews something was odd. Today had been a perfect day to take a "Me" day. Ever since going back to Texas for the weekened, things had changed and noone was sure if it was for the better or worse.

He wanted to be there for his friends but Zay was never good at this sort of thing. He had initially ruined things with Vanessa by being bigmouth Zay. Even though now things were good between them and progressing very favorable for him, it was in large part due to his friends. This is why he felt he should help them when they needed it, however he couldn't think of any way to help. The only advice he could give Lucas is to figure things out. He wished he could help guide him, but he didn't know who Lucas would be happier with.

Maya, the blonde beauty was the kind of girl Lucas would have easily gone for back in Texas. A troublemaker, smart mouth and some family issues. She's who Texas Lucas would easily relate to more and would be more comfortable with.

Then there was Riley, the pretty brunette. Sweet, caring, goofy and a great person overall. She's the kind of girl Lucas would not feel like he fit in to her life. However ever since coming to New York Lucas had changed. He was more open, caring, and looked at the bright side of things more often. New York Lucas would easily fit better with Riley Matthews.

The problem was that just because Lucas has changed, that doesn't mean his past self has dissapeared. If anything Texas Lucas is still very much there, he only has a different method to handle things now. That is Zay's dilemma, how can he guide his friend if Lucas's new side connected to Riley. While his new side with a dark past connected more with Maya.

All this drama had made Zay's head hurt, so he decided to take a break and give his mind time to process things better. So now Zay found himself just wandering the halls with no goal in mind whatsoever. Feeling his phone vibrate, Zay pulled it out and noticed he had a message from Lucas. Finding it strange since the new Lucas doesn't use his phone during class, Zay figure this must be important.

Lucas: Hey Zay, can you do me a favor?

Quickly deciding to help his best friend anyway he could Zay responded.

Zay: Of course man, whats up?

Lucas: Can you find Riley and make sure she's alright?

Becoming more concerned by the second, Zay kept messaging Lucas while scanning the halls.

Zay: What happened?

Lucas: Maya blurted out something happened between us. Riley kinda just froze for a while not saying anything. She suddenly asked her dad if she could be excusued and left. Now Mr. Matthews won't let anyone go after her.

Zay: Alright man, count on me i'll look for her and make sure she's okay.

Lucas: Thanks Zay.

Stuffing his phone in his pocket Zay rushed the halls in search of the brunette. Withint a few minutes he found the brunette hiding in the empty gym, slumped aginst the wall hugging her legs. Slipping inside the gym, Zay kneeled by his friend. "Hey Riley" recognizing the voice and not bothering lifting her head Riley spoke. "What do you want Zay?" Noticing a shake in her voice Zay grew more worried, "Lucas asked me to check up on you, since you're dad won't let anyone else eave the room."

Hugging her legs tighter as she spoke Riley breathed out "I'm fine, just didn't feel well, might have a stomach virus." Letting out a small chuckle, Zay watched the girl, "You've always been a bad liar Matthews. I know what happened in class, so it easy to figure out why you're here." Sitting next to her, Zay watched her tense up at his words. "They're worried about you" glancing around the empty gym, Zay almost missed the small whisper that came from the brunette next to him. "They have each other... they shouldn't worry about me."

Sighing Zay shook his head, "Riley I am Lucas's best friend, I can tell you that he's as confused as you are. And even if he weren't and him and Maya were together, you mean too much to both of them to simply not worry about you." Hearing silence from Riley he continued, "You saw how both of them reacted to you being bullied, for god sakes girl, Lucas was ready to kill someone. You mean the world to them. When and if a relationship develops between them, it wont change how much they care for you."

Finally looking up, with tears in her eyes, Riley looked at Zay. "I just want them to be happy." Giving her a friendly shove Zay gave her some advice, "don't push them too much to see if they are a good match. All that's doing is making things more confusing for them. Let them figure things out but on their own terms, not yours." Hearing Zay's advice slighlty cheered up Riley. He was right, she was forcing them to figure things out her way. "Thanks Zay, I still think I need to step back and allow them a chance, but you're right its up to them how they move forward with it."

Giving the brunette a small hug, Zay smiled "no problem Riley, what are friends for." Hugging him back Riley felt better. Looking at his friend Zay reminded her, "so are you going back to class?" "In a bit, I just need some time to calm down, can I have some privacy?"

Nodding to his friend, Zay stood and walked out of the gym. Wandering the halls one more, Zay pulled out his phone and messaged Lucas.

Zay: found her, she's fine. She should be going back to class in a bit.

Lucas: Thanks Zay, I knew I knew i could count on you.

Smiling to himself, Zay felt some pride. He had helped two friends today, and he honestly felt he had made some headway for them. Strolling the halls, Zay started thinking of ways to help Maya through this, after all she was a good friend to him aswell, and he didnt want her feeling lost. Finding himself near Mr. Matthews class, Zay saw Riley standing by the door. After taking a deep breath, he saw her walk into the classroom. Turning back to the halls, Zay knew that even though things had gotten slightly better, it was still just a small change. Things would take way more time to get fixed. He didn't know what would happen, all he knew is that he wanted to be there to help his friends.

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A bit short, but next chapter will be longer. Will go back to tension between Rucas and Lucaya next chapter as well in more detail.


	5. Chapter 5

For those interested in future updates in the story, a long paragraph can be found at the at the end of this part explaining things better. If you have no interest in following the story as soon as more comes out, and are fine with reading whenever then fell free to skip that paragraph.

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Flopping onto her bed Riley Matthews felt relieved to finally be home. After going back to class she felt every pair of eyes in the classroom glued to her the entire time. Even though she tried to play things off like she was fine, she was sure she had failed. Her dad would look towards her from time to time with a worried look on her face. Maya, when she wasn't looking down in guilt would have a sad look in her eyes when she looked toward the brunette. Farkle kept watching her, making sure she was alright. Finally Lucas for the most part couldn't even look at her, however at one point Riley turned towards him and caught him looking at her with a look she had never seen on him. He had quickly looked away as soon as he saw her eyes on him, but that split second was more than enough for Riley to see that how lousy he felt.

Taking a deep breath Riley stared at the ceiling. She hated that things between her friends had changed so much and to such a degree. What she hated even more was the fact that it was her pushing Maya and Lucas that had caused this. Even though things sucked at the moment, she knew that Maya had feelings for Lucas, and that Lucas felt something for her as well. This knowledge is what gave her the strength to continue this lie that she only loved Lucas as a brother and nothing more.

If things between Maya and Lucas didn't develop, then if Maya was okay with it she would declare her true feelings. However until she had given Maya a chance with Lucas, like Maya had given her then she would step back and allow her best friend a chance with a guy like Lucas. Riley loved Maya like a sister, so if giving up on Lucas is what was need for Maya to be happy, then Riley would never hesitate to make that sacrifice.

A soft knock on the door brought Riley out of her thoughts. Looking towards the door, Riley saw her mother watching her with a concerned look. Sitting up Riley gave her mother a small smile, "hi mom, how was work?"

Walking towards her daughter Topanga returned the smile "fine sweetie, how was school?" "Oh... it was fine." Noticing the falter in her daughters voice Topanga sighed "Riley what's wrong?" Mentally scolding herself for being easy to read Riley walked to the Bay window and sat down. Following her daughters cue Topanga sat by her at the window. Taking a deep breath Riley spoke "Maya confessed something mom." Topanga grew worried at her daughters tone and words, placing her hand over her daughters Topanga softly squeezed it "what did she confess?" Feeling her others hand Riley felt more calm and less stressed. "She said that something happened between her and Lucas back in Texas."

Understanding how something of this magnitude could affect a teenage girl, Topanga knew Riley needed someone to talk to. "What happened?" shaking her head Riley look towards her mom "I have no clue, I can't bring myself to hear her out." Taking a second to breathe Riley continued, "I want her to be happy, if being with Lucas accomplishes that then so be it. I'm just not ready to hear any details."

"Sweetie, Maya loves you, and you're very important to Lucas as well. Do you really think they would be okay with you suffering like this for them?" Looking down Riley avoided her mothers words, so Topanga felt the need to continue "If those two actually want to be with each other they will be, you're way of handling this is basically forcing them to be together." Sighing Riley knew she was right, this was the second time someone had told her this, first Zay now her Mother. "The thing is Riley if you force them to give each other a chance and things don't work out, the friendship they had before will be lost."

Quickly turning towards her mother Riley's eyes were as wide as could be. "What do you mean?" Sighing Topanga explained "they are being forced to be together, odds are it will not work out since they are not 100% invested. And if it doesn't work out since they were forced to try things and didn't decide to do so, it will be even more awkward for them afterwards. Do you really think that they can go back to how things were before?"

A tear ran down Riley's cheek, she had never thought about things that far ahead. All she thought about was things working out, she had never entertained the idea of it not working or the consequences of that. "I ruined everything mom, how could I do this to us, to them?" Wrapping her arms around he daughter, Topanga's mother instincts kicked into overdrive. "Sweetie don't take it out on yourself, you weren't thinking straight." Burying her face into her mother Riley let loose more tears. "Riley it's not too late, just talk to both of them and let them know the truth, and hopefully you can all work on a solution."

After a few minutes Riley's tears dried up and her breathing slowed to a normal pace. "Thanks mom, I needed that." Smiling at her daughter Topanag nodded "anytime sweetie. Now if you're okay, I have to prepare dinner before your dad starts a riot." Chuckling slightly the brunette sat up "go ahead mom i'm fine." Giving her daughter a kiss on the forehead, Topanga walked towards the kitchen.

As Riley sat thinking of what her mother had told her she failed to notice a shadow behind on the other side of the bay window. A soft knock from the window made her slightly jump in surprise. Expecting to see Maya, Riley put on another fake smile and turned towards the window. However the smile quickly faltered as she saw it wasn't Maya at the window but Lucas Fryar.

The look on his face showed he wasn't going to leave without talking. Fighting back everything her mind was telling her, Riley opened the window.

Climbing in Lucas took a seat next to her and took a deep breath. Meanwhile Riley was holding hers in anticipation of what was to come. "Listen Riley, i'm sorry you had to find out the way you did." Shaking her head Riley sighed "it wasn't your fault, besides everyone was going to find sooner or later."

"I know, but im still sorry, I don't know why I did it but I kissed her Riley..." All those tears that she had let out earlier were magically back in her eyes now. However ignoring her mothers words Riley tried to continue her previous ways. "That's great Lucas, you two would be great together."

"Riley I," interrupting Lucas before he said something she couldn't handle Riley continued "Don't hesitate to come to me about anything i'm your sister now aren't I?" Hoping to end things on a good note, Riley sighed in relief. Before she could get comfortable Lucas stepped in "Riley you're not my sister." Freezing up in her spot Riley barely squeaked out one word "Lucas?" Taking her hand Lucas looked at his pretty brunette "Riley I can't tell you how I fell about Maya because I don't even know." Trying to pull her hand back Riley tried to find any set of words. Lucas refused to let her escape this situation "but I can tell you, how I feel about you."

Going against everything she had setup Riley's voice faltered as she spoke "what do you feel..." Scooting closer to Riley, Lucas never released her hand "that you are not my sister, I like you Riley, a lot." Inside Riley's heart was divided. The half that liked Lucas couldn't be happier, while the half that wanted the best for Maya couldn't be more distraught.

Deciding what was more important Riley made a decision "Lucas i'm sorry, but I love you like a brother." Not being content with her answer Lucas grabbed her other hand and looked in her eyes "you see Riley, you say that, yet I don't believe you." Unconsciously biting her lip at his words and his touch, Riley tried to argue "Lucas I know what I feel."

"Then prove it" feeling herself being pulled, Riley found herself mere inches from Lucas. This sudden closeness reminded her of her first kiss with Lucas, this memory caused a slight shake in Riley. Closing the gap between them inch by inch, Lucas's voice completely destroyed all of Riley's strength "if i'm just your brother then prove it." Stopping mere centimeters from Riley's lips his voice softened "stop me from doing what a brother shouldn't then i'll believe you."

Loosing all will to fight, Riley's eyes closed as she felt herself slowly leaning towards the boy of her dreams.

"Riley dinners re..." the sudden voice made both teens jump to their feet. Looking toward the door they say Corey Matthews, Riley's father bearing the look of a killer on his face. Corey had always been a protective father, even if he liked Lucas in light of the recent events his craziness stepped its game up. Looking towards Lucas, Corey growled "YOU!"

Deciding he'd rather live another day, Lucas bolted out the bay window and Mr. Matthews tried to catch him. While all this was happening Riley was frozen in place not knowing what to do. All sorts of thoughts were running through the brunettes mind, and she didn't know how to handle them all at that moment.

Snapping from her train of thought Riley was met face to face with her angry father. "Riley we need to have a serious discussion about what's going on."

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The reason I only post once a week is that is provides the readers with constant material, while providing me with a cushion to work with. For example I am currently around 90% done with part 6. I could post it in a day or 2 when i'm finished, but you would get no more updates until I finished 7. I like to have at least 1 week advanced in writing, so in case I become busy or get writers block, you guys won't have to be left with angst for the next part. Like I said though, I could post 6 when i'm done and work on 7 and post that when i' done and so on. Sure you might get a chapter every 2-3 days for a week maybe 2. The downside is after writing around 5 chapters, I need a break. No matter if I love something I simply can't do it for long without feeling anxiety. So you would get 2-4 chapters in a week/week and a half. but what would follow it would be 2-3 weeks of nothing. I feel my current system works better, considering I used to be very invested in reading some stories. They would post something like 3 parts a week for a month, then nothing for 2 months because of writers block, causing me as a fan of their work much stress over not knowing what would happen next. However if you feel you would prefer getting updates as soon as the part is done, even knowing it might follow a long period of time with no updates, then let me know and i'll do that instead. Otherwise my current system will remain.


	6. Chapter 6

"Riley, what were you thinking?" Corey Matthews was fuming, he walked in on his daughter about to kiss a boy in her room. Normally that would be enough to set him off, however based on what had been happening lately, Corey didn't expect this at all from his daughter. Looking towards the ground, Riley's voice barely made a noise "I don't know dad."

Watching his daughter, Corey felt frustrated, he wanted to let his anger out on her yet seeing her like this, he felt the need to comfort her. Steeping towards his daughter, Corey made up his mind "Riley, you know I'd rather you didn't have a love life, but I can't ignore this. How can you call a guy your brother one day, and want to kiss him the next?"

Plopping herself onto the window, Riley sighed "Dad, Maya likes Lucas." Nodding, Corey agreed "yea I can tell." Looking up at her father, Riley tried to explain "I can't get in the way of her being happy, it's not what sisters do." Grabbing the sides of his head, Corey groaned "Riley, taking yourself out of the equation, doesn't work if you can't control yourself with Lucas." Looking down, Riley nodded. "I won't get involved in this, otherwise you will never learn to handle things like this in the future. However Riley, don't hesitate to talk to us if you're stuck on anything, okay?"

Nodding to her dad, Riley looked at her lap. Sighing Corey reached out his hand "now come on, its time for dinner."

Dinner went by awkwardly but without interruption. Topanga wanted to ask what had happened, but a look from Corey, told her enough. Auggie sensed something was off, but being his age, he didn't understand how severe it was, so the thought quickly left his mind.

Heading back to her room, Riley felt her head ready to explode. Things had been much easier to deal with before Lucas's visit. Now Lucas knew for sure how Riley felt about him. Burying her face in a pillow Riley groaned in frustration. By not being able to control herself with Lucas she had let Maya down. After an hour of letting out her frustrations, the brunette decided she had to talk things through with Maya. Taking a deep breath, Riley grabbed her cellphone and started typing out.

Riley: Bay window...

Within seconds of sending out the message, Riley's phone shook.

Maya: I'm on my way.

Changing into her sleepwear, Riley messaged her parents, letting them know not to disturb. Upon getting a reply, Riley shut off her phone and waited by the bay window. Within seconds of sitting down, Maya slipped through the window and sat by her friend. Not knowing what to do, Maya played with her hands as she looked around the room, avoiding eye contact.

"Maya, you're my sister and I love you." Turning towards the brunette, Maya smiled softly "I love you too Riley." Returning the smile, Riley cleared her throat "as sisters we should share our secrets." Hearing her words, Maya bit her lip expecting Riley to ask Maya what happened between her and Lucas. Even though she wanted to tell her, she couldn't find the words. Seeing Maya's expression, Riley spoke clearly "I know you and Lucas kissed."

"How do you know..." came Maya quiet response. "Lucas told me." Looking down in shame, Maya tried to apologize "Riley, i'm sorry it was a stupid mistake that will never happen again." Placing her hand on top of Maya's, Riley continued "there is nothing to be sorry about Maya, I basically gave you two permission. You did nothing wrong." Turning towards the brunette, Maya bore red eyes as she fought back tears. "I'm the one who needs to apologize" continued the brunette.

"I lied to you, to everyone." Staring at her friend Maya tried to comprehend her words. "Riley, what are you talking about?" Taking a deep breath, Riley pushed forward her words 'I lied when I said I only loved Lucas like a brother." Letting out a small smile, Maya nodded "I know Riles, you're not exactly the best liar around."

A weak chuckle escaped the brunettes lips "yea..." Grabbing both of Maya's hands, Riley looked into her eyes "Lucas knows..." Raising an eyebrow, Maya spoke "How does Huckleberry know?" Biting her lip, Riley braved out her answer "He came by today and..." Getting choked up, Riley felt her hands being gently squeezed. Looking up, she saw Maya giving her a reassuring smile. "He told me, he didn't believe me. So I denied it." Nodding Maya waited for her to finish, since she could feel something more was coming. "He pulled me in and told me if I just saw him as a brother, that I should stop him..."

"Stop him from what Riles?" asked Maya. Closing her eyes to avoid seeing Maya's reaction, Riley continued "stop him from kissing me.." As she kept her eyes shut, Riley failed to see the look of pure defeat on the face of her best friend. "Did you stop him?" Hearing Maya's tone, Riley opened her eyes and saw her friends sad look. Biting her lip, Riley shook her head "I couldn't, but my dad walked in before anything happened."

Nodding to her friend, Maya looked away. "Maya i'm so sorry." Fighting back her tears, Maya smiled at her sister "Riley, you like him and he likes you, it's only natural for you two want to kiss." Shaking her head, Riley insisted "but Maya, I think Lucas likes you too."

Just like Riley had been torn earlier now so was Maya. She was ecstatic that Riley thought Lucas liked her, but felt horrible at the possibility that she was the reason Riley and Lucas as a couple didn't work out. Sensing her friends inner struggle Riley hugged her "Maya, Lucas and you are great together, everyone in class sees that." Hugging her brunette friend back, Maya shook her head "No Riley, me and huckleberry are good friends but not a couple." Pulling back from the hug, Riley's face was filled with confusion. Maya continued, "he's a great guy Riley." Nodding in agreement, Riley softly smiled "I love talking to him."

"I love..." Maya suddenly stopped mid-sentence. Shifting in her seat, Riley was nervous to hear Maya's full response. Maya was trying to figure out exactly what she loved, and what she was comfortable saying out loud to Riley. "Making fun of him."

"Why?" facing Riley, Maya asked "Why do I love making fun of him?" This question was in reality more Maya asking herself that same question. "Yeah" nodded Riley. "Because he's great."

"Yeah" agreed Riley with a weak smile. Continuing her explanation Maya placed her hands on her lap "he needs someone like me to take him down. And he needs someone like you.."

"For why?" interrupting Maya, Riley started at her "For why does he need me?" Taking a second to compose herself from Riley's interruption Maya tried to find the proper words. "To... to build him up. To tell his Ranger Rick stories to, and make him feel like a hero. You like his stories and he likes yours." Giving off another weak smile, Riley nodded and faced forward, as the two sat in silence.

After what seemed like an eternity, Maya broke the silence "you're good for him, you bring out the best in each other and made him realize the error in his past." Turning toward Maya, Riley cheeks were now stained with a few tears. "Because of you he became a better person. How can i get in the way of that?" Continued Maya, using a similar tone and choice of words Riley had previously used on her. Pulling the blonde into a tight hug, Riley sobbed into her best friend's shoulder. Embracing the brunette, Maya let loose a few tears of her own.

Minutes passed as both friends embraced each other and their tears finally faded away. Slowly pulling back, Riley looked at Maya "Maya... what are we going to do?" After some time in silence contemplating a true answer Maya softly smiled. "I don't know Riles, what I do know, is that there will be no more secrets between us, okay?"

Nodding to her sister, Riley returned a small smile as Maya continued. "And no matter what we will get through it together. I love you Riley." Relaxing at her words, Riley's smile grew "I love you too Maya." As both friends looked at each other, their hands joined in front of their faces, "ring power" both girls softly stated. Looking at their rings Maya spoke first. "Thunder," "Lighting." came the reply from Riley. Looking at Riley with a sad smile Maya bit her lip "a little scared." Returning that sad smile Riley softly nodded "me too."


	7. Chapter 7

Kind of a short chapter. I apologize, but next chapter will be slightly longer than usual to make up for this one.

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Groaning loudly, Zay shot a pillow at Fakle's head "Farkle shut up with the spoilers man!" Stumbling abit because of the hit, Farkle steadied himself "alright fine, let's just finish the movie." Grabbing the remote and pausing the film, Zay looked at his friends "what's the point now?"

"He's right Farkle, we already know what's going to happen." cut in Lucas. "Fine" came Farkle's reply, "what do we do know?" The trio were currently in Farkle's house for a movie night. Being the freaky genius that he is, Farkle could easily tell every detail in the movie before it happened. For some odd reason he felt the need to share it with his friends, which they didn't appreciate at all.

After some silence a sly smirk appeared on Zay's face as he faced Lucas "I know, how about you tell us what's going on with you and the girls?" At his question, Lucas felt Farkle's eyes focus on him, as he felt himself slightly sweating. "You know what, let's just finish the movie and see if Farkle was right." "We know he's right Lucas, so come on spill it."

Looking back and forth between his friends, Lucas felt outnumbered "I don't know man, it's all too weird." Staring at his friend Farkle spoke "Lucas I told you, you need to figure this out soon." Nodding Lucas sighed "I know Farkle, i'm just so confused." Patting Lucas on the shoulder Zay stepped in "Lucas, why is this so hard man?"

Shaking his head Lucas breathed out "I'm scared guys." "Scared of what?" replied Farkle. Looking up Lucas stared at the ceiling "Riley and Maya are great. Putting the fact that they are both beautiful aside they are very important to me." Keeping his focus on his friend Farkle questioned "Important how?"

"Riley is sweet, caring and always makes me feel like I can do anything. She believes in me like no one else does." Smiling Farkle simply nodded. "But Maya. Maya is different. She is tough but broken. She always calls me names, makes fun of my background."

"So you don't like Maya?" asked Zay as he studied his friend's expression. "I didn't say that Zay." Looking back at his friends Lucas continued "Maya always makes sure I don't get a big head, she knocks me off the 'cloud of awesomeness'. That girl keeps me humble and reminds me that i'm only human and need help from my friends. She's a constant reminder that your past doesn't represent who you are, that you can be more."

Nodding Farkle stood "you care about them, both of them." Watching his friend Lucas nodded "of course I do, they're great." "If you care for them, why can't you tell who you care for more?" questioned Zay as he stood and leaned against the wall. "It's not that Zay." Raising an eyebrow Zay asked "then what is it?"

"I'm afraid that if I choose one of them i'll loose the other. Now that Maya's feelings are out, I don't see her being able to act like before if I were to choose Riley. And Riley's to sweet to say anything, but I can tell knowing I may feel something for Maya is hard for her. I don't know what will become of our relationship if I choose Maya."

Listening to his words Farkle and Zay understood their friends current struggle. Lucas deeply cared for both girls and the possibility of loosing one or the other was killing him. "I can't loose those girls, and if I choose between them I might."

A few minutes of silence fell upon the trio, as they each were lost in their thoughts on the current situation. Finally it was Zay who broke the silence "Any idea on what you're going to do Lucas?" Shaking his head Lucas ran his hands through his hair "Not yet man." Stepping forward Farkle placed a hand on Lucas's shoulder "we're here for you Lucas." Looking up, Lucas saw Zay nodding in agreement as he let out a small smile "Thanks guys."

Finding himself back in school Lucas Fryar stood with his head against the locker. He had not been able to get much sleep ever since this whole mess started and last night was no different. "Um.. you okay there Lucas?" a soft voice besides him grasped his attention. Turning his head slightly Lucas saw his classmate Sarah. Softly smiling at her Lucas sighed "yea, just a bit tired." Sarah had always been a quiet one most of the time. Apart from the occasional words spoken to the whole class, for the most part she kept quiet and talked only to her best friend Darby. Returning the smile, but brighter she relaxed "good, you didn't look like usual and got me a bit worried."

Straightening up Lucas chuckled "Thanks for worrying Sarah but i'm fine, I promise." Smiling more Sarah nodded "okay, I believe you. Well i'll see you in class Lucas." Nodding to his classmate Lucas smiled "you too and thanks again for worrying." Sarah smiles as she turned and walked away. As he saw this Lucas saw Darby, looking at Sarah with a smirk on her face. Thinking not much of it Lucas opened his Locker.

At the top of the stairs stood two beautiful girls frozen in place. They had stopped moving when they had seen Lucas's interaction with Sarah. Both girls didn't know what to do, the both had feelings for Lucas that much was certain. Each one also wanted the other to be the one that Lucas chose, however seeing him talking to another girl while smiling and laughing, brought a feeling neither of them enjoyed. They felt jealousy, jealous of another girl. They thought they would be able to handle Lucas choosing the other but the possibility of Lucas choosing someone else entirely was a bit much for them to handle.

As Riley turned towards her friend she saw the same look that adorned her face on Maya's face. Squeezing her hand Riley spoke "You okay Maya?" Looking away from Lucas, Maya faced her friend and nodded "yeah." As the bell for class rang, Riley sadly smiled "let's go to class."

As both friends walked into the classroom they walked behind Lucas. As they saw Lucas reach his desk, he turned and smiled at Sarah "hey" he spoke. Sarah smiled back and waved "hi". The fact that this interaction was what Lucas had with them was bad enough. It didn't help that as soon as Lucas turned around to speak to Zay, Darby shoved Sarah's arm and smirked at her, as Sarah blushed.

Biting their lip each girl took their seat and remained silent until the class officially started. Walking into class, Mr. Matthews noticed the look on the girls faces. They looked defeated and crushed, he hoped to get answers soon but forced his fatherly emotions aside and focused on the day's agenda. "What is the one thing that we as human beings posses that is the hardest and most rewarding thing to do." Looking around the class Matthews continued "the ability to forgive, as humans we can forgive those who have wronged us. It's not an easy thing, but if accomplished the reward makes it worth every second." As he stood in front of his desk Matthews smiled "This weeks assignment will be about forgiving somone who has wronged you in the past" Passing out red envelopes to the class Matthews looked at his students "so withouth further ado, let us commence The Forgiveness Project."

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Some of you may not be all that pleased with the whole scene by the locker (specifically the shippers), but it will play a good part in future chapters and be good for the story. It's not like i'm going to stick in that direction and previous chapter will have meant nothing, or am never going to mention it again. So trust me it will make sense in about 2 or 3 chapters (can't remember which one exactly right now) and Rucas or Lucaya is still endgame, getting closer to figuring out which exactly but not 100% yet.


	8. Chapter 8

"Riley will you just drop it already?" Ever since Matthews had given them their assignment of forgiving someone, Riley kept pestering Maya to write to her father and work things through. Maya however refused to follow Riley's advice as she didn't feel it was a necessary thing to do. Being the stubborn girl that she was Riley wasn't taking no for an answer "No Maya I will not, don't you think it's about time you should forgive him?"

"Butt out Riley" exclaimed Maya as she was getting fed up with Riley's stubbornness. "Maya" "No Riley" cutting Riley off Maya looked angrily at her best friend "this isn't your choice so just drop it." Maya however instantly regretted her words as she saw her best friends face just drop. Seeing Riley's face display a sad expression was never an easy thing for the blonde. Relaxing slightly, the blonde looked at her friend "Riley, please just don't push this okay?" Softly nodding the brunette kept her eyes glued to the ground.

"I'll see you later Riles" turning around the blonde decided to walk home in order to get some alone time. As soon as she reached her place, Maya instantly went to her room and quickly grabbed her sketchbook. Blasting some music the blonde lost herself in her drawing not really paying attention to what her pencil was sketching.

Hours passed until Maya actually glimpsed at her work. Staring at it for a few minutes she studied every detail. She couldn't believe she had drawn this, it was strange that this is what flowed from her hand during these times. Adorning the page was a beautifully drawn picture. The picture contained a beautiful fire sitting on the ground, in the background there was a clear starry night. Near the fire there was a long log besides a boulder. On the boulder there sat a cowboy hat. Biting her lip Maya focused on the figure sitting on the log. Lucas Fryar, her Huckleberry, sat on the log as his gaze focused to his left, reminding Maya of that night in Texas.

Quickly closing the sketch book, the blonde threw in on her bed and buried her face in her hands. What was wrong with her? Why was the cowboy creeping up on her mind when she was trying to do something that relaxed her during the stressful day. Feeling her phone vibrate Maya opened her messages expecting to see a text from Riley.

Ranger Rick: Hey.

Maya: What do you want Huckleberry?

Ranger Rick: Just checking up on you.

Maya: Why?

Ranger Rick: You seemed stressed during school.

Maya: Does it matter?

Ranger Rick: Maya...

Maya: I'm busy Huckleberry, bye.

Shutting off her phone, the blonde groaned in frustration. Why was Lucas worried about her? Shaking her head, Maya decided to do the one thing she could do to take her mind off this. Picking up a regular pencil and piece of paper, Maya took a deep breath as words filled the page.

A few days passed after Maya had taken to writing her forgiveness letter, her and Riley had calmed down. They had talked things through and hugged each other. Maya had let out Lucas' texts and the drawing when talking to Riley. She didn't know why but she couldn't bring herself to bring it up. Another thing she didn't let the brunette know was that she ahd actually bothered writing the letter.

Finding herself sitting by the bay window with her best friend by her side at 'Topanga's', Maya found herself shifting in her seat nervously. "Peaches? What's wrong? Why did you ask me to come here?" Biting her lip Maya turned to her sister "I just need you to be here for me." Noticing her friends tone, Riley nodded and kept her sight on her best friend. Some time passed and Riley noticed Maya suddenly tense up "peaches?"

Keeping quiet Maya glanced down and stayed completely still. Looking around Riley saw Maya's mom Katy walking towards a customer. Unlike her usual mood, Katy seemed to be irritated as she stopped in front of the man. The man tensed up as he saw Katy in front of him. After some very awkward interactions between the pair, Katy snapped and smeared a piece of pie all over the man. Riley gasped as she saw this, she couldn't believe this happening. Katy was usually very composed, so seeing her snap shocked Riley. As Katy began tossing different types of food to the man, Riley turned to her best friend "Maya? Who is that man?"

Not answering her friends question Maya softly stood on her feet and slowly made her way towards the man. Sensing someone looking at him the man turned towards the blonde and softly smiled "hi Maya." Biting her lip Maya looked at him in the eye "hi dad.."

Staring wide eyed at her friend Riley felt her eyes glimmer with tears. Maya had actually wrote to her father and was now confronting him. As Topanga stepped in and offered Kermit the restroom to clean up, Maya and Riley moved on to the couches and sat together. Grasping her hand Riley softly smiled at her best friend "i'm proud of you peaches."

When Maya's father returned he took stood by the couches and smiled as he watched Maya. Deciding to break the tension in the room Riley faced the man "Hi i'm Riley I've heard a lot of you." Smiling at the girl, Kermit took his eyes of his daughter to speak to this girl. "Hi Riley, are you a friend of Maya's?"

Riley's face gave off an offended look "I'm sorry, please don't take this the wrong way but WHAT?" Finally speaking Maya turned towards her father "Riley is my best friend, but you wouldn't know about her or me."

"Nice to meet you Riley, thank you for being such a good friend to Maya." spoke Kermit as he once more smiled at the brunette. "It's easy, she's great." Smiling wider at her words Kermit slightly relaxed. Whispering to her friend Riley turned "I pictured him as a monster. He doesn't seem like a monster."

"Why are you here Kermit?" questioned Katy as she glared angrily at him. Pulling out a red envelope Kermit stated "I was invited."

Turning towards her own daughter Topanga questioned what this was all about. As Riley explained to her mother, that this was another of her fathers 'lessons' Topanga shook her head but understood.

"You said you were going out for a walk and would be back in an hour, you're one year late." Turning towards Katy Kermit sighed "Katy..."

"Why weren't we good enough for you." came the bold statement from Maya. "That wasn't it Maya."

Taking a deep breath, Maya stood and slowly walked towards her father as she spoke. "Do you remember the night a storm shook our place? I was five and thought the world was on fire. I'm hiding under the covers crying, and you come into my room and made it all a game. We were in Alaska looking for golf, and the lighting was the Aurora Borealis. You made the entire night and adventure, and the next morning it was a sunny day. You don't remember that?"

Shaking his head Kermit spoke "No, Maya I don't." he replied sadly. Maya's expression fell "that's because it didn't happen. The storm happened but you didn't. It was mom, she made it a game and I wasn't scared at all." Stepping up to her daughter Katy wrapped an arm around her shoulder "I was petrified, greatest performance of my life."

"Where were you?" asked Riley. Looking slightly down in shame Kermit's voice softened greatly "I wasn't home." Raising an eyebrow Riley stared at him "how could you not be home?"

"Because that's how life is Riley, people lie about their feelings and fathers leave." Turning towards her father Maya looked at him in the eye "you know, sometimes you can let it go, sometimes you can't." Shaking her head Maya sighed "I'm sorry for wasting your time but I can't do this." Turning around Maya bolted from the premise with tears falling from her eyes.

As she ran Maya wasn't paying attention to her surroundings and found herself colliding into something and fell to the floor. "Watch where you're going..." Maya instantly shut her mouth as she saw who she collided with. Not wanting this person to see her cry Maya quickly looked away. As the person sat up the form of Lucas Fryar became clear. Taking a second to realize what happened Lucas turned to Maya. Realizing what happened he quickly got to his feet and offered her a hand "i'm sorry Maya, you okay?" Ignoring his hand, Maya stood on her own and mumbled "i'm fine." Wanting to get away as soon as possible to avoid Lucas seeing her this way, Maya started walking away. As she tried to leave she felt a strong hand on her arm. Turning towards the owner of the hand Maya kept her head down avoiding his gaze "let me go Lucas."

"Did I do something wrong?" asked Lucas as he noticed the blonde avoiding his gaze."You did nothing Huckleberry, now let me go I have things to do" stated Maya as she tried getting free from his grip. Pulling her more so she was now completely facing him mere inches away Lucas watched her and noticed the tears in her eyes "Maya, what happened?" "Why do you care?" blurted out the blonde.

Feeling deeply hurt by her comment Lucas took a second to respond "Maya, what has gotten into you? Of course I care about you, you know that." Scoffing at his statement Maya rolled her eyes "yea right Huckleberry, you sure do a great job of showing it." Stepping closer Lucas demanded "What does that mean?"

"Nothing okay, just let me go." "Maya please, I care alot about you, I can't let you walk away seeing you like this." Feeling more tears building up, Maya clenched her teeth. "Stop lying to me Lucas, you don't care for me you never have!" Letting go of her arm, Lucas couldn't believe her words "Maya..." "Save it okay" stated Maya as she looked down. "I know about what happened at Riley's"

"I can explain Maya" pleaded Lucas. "There is nothing to explain, i'm just a 'short little stack of pancakes' to you nothing more." Grabbing her hand, Lucas looked in her eyes "Maya that's not true, you're very important to me." Pulling away Maya, avoided Lucas's gaze "you sure showed it while flirting with Sarah in the middle of the school." Instantly biting her tongue at her outburst Maya stayed silent. "Maya, Sarah has nothing to do with how much I care about you." Letting more tears loose Maya glared at him "stop leading me on just because you feel pity for me."

Getting fed up Lucas grabbed both of her arms and stared into her eyes "Listen to me Maya, I do not pity you whatsoever. And I do care about you, so please don't act this way." Loosing full control of her emotions Maya found herself sobbing as Lucas pulled her into his arms and held her.

From inside of 'Topanga's' stood a pretty brunette by the window with a heart broken look on her face. She was glad that Lucas was being there for Maya, but she was also hurting at the thought that Maya and him seemed so close now. Biting her lip, Riley stayed still as she saw Lucas hold Maya in his arms as she clenched to his t-shirt and sobbed.

After some time Maya finally calmed down and slowly loosened her grip on the cowboys shirt. As she started pulling away she saw Lucas watching her intently. Biting her lip, she noticed Lucas was keeping his arms around her "Lucas?"

"Maya no matter what happens, not just Riley but you also mean a lot to me don't forget that." Freezing at his words and his gaze Maya kept staring at the boy. Meanwhile Riley tensed up at the sight, she couldn't hear their words, but their closeness was bringing a great deal of pain in her heart.

"Lucas... can you let me go?" whispers the blonde. Even though she had asked this she secretly never wanted this moment to end. She had completely forgotten about her dad and her sole focus was now on the boy in front of her. "No" came Lucas's stern reply. Biting her lip Maya questioned "Why not?" Keeping one arm around her, Lucas reached up with the other and gently wiped the tears from the blonde's face. As Maya, shuddered at his touched Lucas simply shrugged.

Leaning down Lucas pressed his forehead against the blonde's and sighed "I'm here for you, i'm sorry if I don't seem like it." After a few seconds of silence soft words escaped the blondes lips "Lucas.."

"Yeah." replied the cowboy. Biting her lip Maya breathed softly "nothing." As both teens were lost in the moment, the had completely forgotten they were in public. As they kept looking at each other enjoying each others company a new voice made both of them jump. "Um... this is new."

Separating from each other, the teens each felt a blush creeping on their cheeks. As Lucas rubbed the back of his head and looked away in embarrassment, Maya turned to the newcomer with a shocked expression. "Shawn?"


	9. Chapter 9

"Shawn?"

Smiling down at the blonde from the steps outside of Topanga's Shawn walked down "hi Maya. Don't I get a hug?" As soon as Shawn reached the end of the steps Maya ran into his arms and hugged him tightly. Hugging her back, Shawn kept his eyes on Lucas, as he noticed the boy looking incredibly uncomfortable.

"I got to go. I'll see you later Maya." quickly speeding past Maya and Shawn Lucas left as Shawn watched him with a smirk on his face. As soon as he was out of ear reach Shawn gently pulled back from the hugged and smirked at Maya "So Maya whats with you and Lucas?"

Blushing profusely, the blonde looked away. Shawn had become like a father to her this recent year, so talking about Lucas to him was very embarrassing. "N...nothing, he was just being a good friend." Loosing his smirk Shawn watched the girl with a worried look "Corey told me I should come back right away for an emergency. So what happened?" Taking a deep breath Maya looked up at Shawn with teary eyes "Matthews gave us an assignment on forgiveness."

Nodding silently Shawn waited for more "I ended up writing to my father.." "Oh Maya." Hugging the girl Shawn understood why Corey basically ordered him to return so quick without warning. "i'm taking it didn't go well?"

"He showed up, and I tried but seeing him brought so much pain that I couldn't and I left." Staying motionless the blonde continued "that's when I bumped into Lucas and he... he was a good friend to me."

"From what I saw, he was being a little too good a friend." Stated Shawn. "Shawn..." replied the blonde. Shaking his head and looking at the girl Shawn smiled "that's not important right now, what's important is how you're feeling right now." Holding the girl in his arms, Shawn felt a pain in his chest he had never felt for before. He cared for this girl, he wanted to protect her and be there for her like the father she deserved. Almost missing slight movement, something caught Shawn's attention. Turning his gaze to 'Topanga's' window, Shawn saw his niece looking on with a sad smile. Waving her over with one hand, Shawn smiled at her and mouthed the words 'come here'.

Nodding to her uncle's gesture the brunette headed outside and walked slowly towards the pair. "Hey uncle Shawn." Opening his arm Shawn motioned the girl to him. Nodding silently, the brunette understood what he meant and walked towards him and her friend. Placing herself next to her best friend, Riley felt her uncle's arm wrap around her as he held both girls. As Maya relaxed upon hearing her best friends voice, she felt another arm wrapping itself around her and slightly smiled at the gesture.

After a few moments of silence the trio pulled apart and found themselves sitting on one of the outdoor tables. Breaking the silent the grown up of the group set his eyes on the two teens sitting by his side "So care to fill me in on whats been going on in my absence?"

Looking back and forth between each other, the two girls bit their lips in angst. "Girls." Shawn's voice came forth in a demanding but understanding, soft tone. Knowing her best friend better than anyone, Riley knew Maya wasn't going to be able to talk to Shawn about recent events.

"We went to Texas uncle Shawn." Raising an eyebrow in surprise Shawn watched his niece. "While we were there Lucas rode a bull in a rodeo." Clearing his throat Shawn stopped the girl "I'm sorry what? I know he's from Texas, but a Rodeo?" Nodding, the brunette seemed composed but under the table had her hands balled up as she neared the start of everything. "Maya got very worried over Lucas and seeing her reaction I was able to deduce that Maya..." Swallowing the lump in her throat the sad brunette looked up at her uncle and was about to continue until she felt a soft hand wrap itself around her balled up fist. Turning towards her blonde sister, Riley was met with a reassuring look.

As Maya faced Shawn she took over the tale "I like Lucas." A mild look of shock covered Shawn's face after hearing the information. Upon arriving and witnessing Lucas's and Maya's interaction he could tell something had definitely developed in their friendship since he had been gone. And seeing Maya's reaction when he had brought it up gave him an idea that maybe the blonde felt more strongly for the cowboy than he had realized. However actually hearing it and knowing Riley was fully aware of this was not something he would've expected.

This new information was a little much to wrap his head around. He didn't know what to think about this. If he simply thought about Maya he was happy for the girl. She had always seemed to be the rebel type and he had been worried she would be attracted to the bad crowd and the wrong type of guy. However knowing she had feelings for Lucas relieved his worry, sure he knew about his past from Corey and he personally had actually never spoken to the kid, but Corey seemed to really like him. If Corey Matthews was fine with someone with Lucas's past hanging around his daughter, then he had to be a great kid. There was no way the over protective Corey Matthews would ever allow a boy near his daughter that he didn't fully trust, and judging by what he had heard Lucas was always around the girls and was accepted by the family.

If he however thought about Riley, he felt crushed. Riley was basically his niece and he loved the girl dearly. He knew from listening to Corey's late night rant sessions on the phone that Riley had clear feelings for the Texas Native. From experience Shawn knew the dangers of two friends both wanting the same person. In his experience he was Lucky that for him it was mostly a physical attraction and deep friendship than actual romantic feelings otherwise the friendship between the 3 could not have gone so smooth afterwards. In this situation according to Corey and Topanga, Riley clearly had deep feelings for Lucas. And now according to Riley so did Maya, he didn't know the specifics but he trusted the girl's friendship so he knew Riley would be able to tell if Maya legitimately had feelings for Lucas or not.

"Shawn" as a soft voice shook Shawn from his mind, he found himself being looked upon with worry by the two girls. Clearing his throat, Shawn sat up straight "sorry girls, lost my train of thought for a second." Slightly loosing their worried looks, the girls relaxed as Maya continued "Lucas knows how we both feel about him, and we know how he feels about Riley.." Taking a small break it was now Riley's turn to offer her hand in reassurance to her best friend as she took back the tale. "We don't know how exactly he feels for Maya. Its obvious he deeply cares for her but not to what extent."

"Oh" came Shawn's soft reply as he examined the pain look in the blonde's eyes. "At the end we decided that no matter what happens no boy is worth fighting over. Lucas should freely choose who he wants to be with and no matter what" Turning towards the blonde Riley wrapped her arms around her as the blonde did the same in return "we will always be friends and we will always be sisters."

Smiling at the scene before him Shawn felt a warmth in his chest he had never felt before, knowing that his niece and the girl he was becoming a father figure for were there for each other no matter what, showed him that despite their teenage problems and drama both girls were very mature for their age.

The scene however was interrupted by the arrival of another blonde who instantly widened her eyes upon noticing the presence of the man sitting with the girls. "Shawn?" Smiling softly said man stood as he offer Katy a small hug which she accepted. "Hi Katy." Looking around nervously Katy tried to get her mind to focus on what was in front of her at that moment. "What are you doing here Shawn?"

"Corey called me, he said Maya could need me. The girls here were filling me in on everything that's happened since I've been last here." Turning towards her daughter Katy placed a hand on her shoulder "are you okay baby girl?" Nodding softly the blonde responded "yea mom, i'm okay."

"Topanga is closing up shop early so we can have some time together Maya." Smiling still with a sad expression the blonde stood "sounds good mom." Turning towards her mom Maya bit her lip "Mom is it okay if Shawn stays for dinner." Wanting to spend alone time with her daughter Katy wanted to say no, however she knew how much Shawn meant to Maya and knew their relationship could help in this situation. "Of course baby girl, lets go."

Nodding to her mother the blonde turned to her sister "I'm sorry Riles, but I have to go, I'll see you later, okay?" Hugging the blonde Riley squeezed her good "don't worry about it Maya, go."As the girls released from their hug, Maya joined her mom and Shawn as they walked away together with Maya in between the two. The scene brought a tear to Riley's eye as the three looked like a real family, like the family Maya deserved.

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Not gonna lie, i'm posting this chapter as soon as it is finished. I usually write the most from 3-5 am, even when I have other free time to write, something distracts me from writing much. During 3-5 am is when I can write without distractions, however lately I have been falling asleep earlier so it has cut back on my time to write. Don't worry though I will still do everything I can to keep up the current schedule even If I end up finishing at the deadline. Anyways thanks for reading the story, hope you enjoy the chapter and whats to come.


	10. Chapter 10

Laying in her bed the beautiful blonde stared at her ceiling with a completely confused head. Everything that happened recently was hell for the girl, however it had a silver lining. Shawn had come back to be there for her because of current events. She had been able to have dinner with her mom and Shawn, and for the first time in almost ten years the blonde felt like she had a family again.

She now found herself relaxing in her room as her mom and Shawn talked back in the living room. Sitting up Maya took out her cell phone. As she looked at the phone a smile came upon the blonde's face. Mr. Matthews had taken it upon himself to buy her the phone as a gift. Mr Matthews was like a father to the girl, and she loved him. However with Shawn she felt something stronger like a true father daughter bond that she didn't even feel with Corey. It was like Shawn had always been there for the blonde even if they had barely met not that long ago.

Shaking her head the blonde sighed, she loved having Shawn around but she knew it wouldn't last. It wasn't Shawn's fault, he had a job and it required him to travel constantly. She was nonetheless grateful that Shawn had returned simply because Matthews had told him Maya might need him. It brought a huge smile to the blonde's face.

Taking up her pencil and sketchbook, Maya found herself expressing herself through her artwork. After a few minutes of drawing random things there was a soft knock at the door. "Come in" As the door opened Maya softly smiled as she saw it was Shawn.

Sitting next to the blonde, Shawn returned the smile "that was a nice dinner." Nodding shyly the blonde placed her sketchbook down. "Yeah."

"So how long we avoiding this Maya?" Biting her lip, the blonde looked away "we aren't avoiding anything Shawn." Slightly turning Shawn faced the girl "Good, now lets talk about your dad." Quickly picking back up her sketchbook, the blonde started drawing while pretending she hadn't heard a thing. Softly sighing, Shawn gazed at the girl "Maya, the longer you avoid talking about this the harder it'll get."

Still refusing to speak the blonde gripped her pencil tightly as she tried to get her mind of things. Shawn however wasn't going to let things go and kept questioning the blonde "Maya, I know its hard but you have to talk to someone about this." As his eyes focused more on the girl next to him, Shawn realized the blonde was gripping her pencil with a lot of strength and was slightly shaking. "Maya?"

Finally having had enough the blonde turned and looked at Shawn with tears in her eyes. "He left us Shawn! He left me! I wasn't enough for him. So why should I forgive him?"

"Maya don't do this to yourself. You don't have to forgive him, but don't let him hurt you this much." Looking at the girl sadly, Shawn felt horrible. He had personally been through a lot in his life, but absolutely nothing had ever been harder than watching Maya suffer.

As tears ran down the blonde's face she felt herself being pulled into Shawn's arms. As she found herself enveloped in the arms of the man next to her, Maya felt a new wave of emotions rush over her. She was hurting but at the same time relieved there was someone who actually cared enough for her to be there. For the second time that day, Maya Hart found herself in the arms of a man who meant everything to her.

As he held the girl in his arms a small smile appeared on Shawn's face as he finally realized what Corey had tried to explain to him so many times. The idea of fatherly love, the idea of giving your unconditional love to someone you wanted to protect from the dangers of life.

After some time, the girl in his arms dozed off and finally stopped shedding tears. Gently laying the girl down, Shawn quietly pulled the covers over her. As he watched the sleeping girl, Shawn knew that no matter what happened in his life he would always do everything in his power to protect this girl. Even though to him the idea of being called 'dad' was still strange and he didn't feel he was ready for it yet, he knew that this girl would always be in his heart and would be his daughter.

As a figure stood by the doorway peaking into the bedroom, a huge smile spread on this figure's face. Katy Hart had stood by the door for quite some time now, she had seen her daughter break into tears and had seen Shawn hold her tightly. Even though she had wanted to go in and be there for her daughter herself, Katy knew that at this point in time, Maya needed some kind of father figure to be there for her. Knowing Maya absolutely adored Shawn, Katy knew she should let them have a moment. Seeing Shawn lay Maya in bed and tuck her in brought a smile to her face and a tear to her eye.

If she didn't know any better, she could swear she was watching a loving father tucking in his beloved daughter. When she had first learned about Shawn, she had been apprehensive about the whole idea. Maya had adored Shawn since day one, but his job kept him away for weeks and months at a time. She had been worried that Shawn would end up leaving and hurting Maya.

However Shawn had defied her expectations. Whenever he was able to come back to New York, Shawn had always made sure to spend some time with Maya. He spent as much time with Maya as he did with the Matthews. Considering how close Shawn and they were, Katy couldn't help but feel grateful to the man. She had started to see how much Shawn truly adored Maya as well. Fast forward to today, Shawn had rushed home as soon as he received a call from Corey telling him that Maya might need him. Without any specifics Shawn had dropped everything he was doing and made his way back to New York to be there for Maya. With that in mind and seeing his interaction with Maya today, Katy knew to trust in Shawn when it came to her daughter. Something told her that Shawn would never hurt Maya, and for some reason or another she believed this to be true.

Making his way out of the bedroom into the hallway, Shawn was confronted by a smiling blonde. "Thank you Shawn." Not really knowing what he did to deserve thanks Shawn stood confused as Katy decided to explain based on his reaction. "Thank you for being there for Maya, she truly adores you." Smiling softly at her words, Shawn glanced back into the bedroom onto the sleeping girl. "There's no need to thank me, I adore her too. She's a great kid."

Walking side by side to the front door, Katy and Shawn both were worried about the girl, yet very proud that she had taken this big first step. As they reached the door to the apartment, Katy turned to Shawn and once more expressed her gratitude. "Thanks again Shawn. Maya needs a good father figure in her life in these kind of moments. I'm glad she found you."

Nodding softly, Shawn smiled "I'm glad I found her too, she deserves a male figure in her life she can call her own. Corey is great but I know Maya still sees him as mostly just Riley's dad. She loves him but Corey has mentioned he always felt something was missing in their relationship. I'm glad she can have a complete relationship like that with someone because she deserves it. Maya is accepted into the Matthew's family as am I. So that makes us Family, and I couldn't be more proud of her."

* * *

Thanks to those who have kept reading the story this far. To those worried that the pairing is going more towards Lucas/Maya instead of Lucas/Riley don't worry the story isn't over yet so no pairing is for sure at this point in the story. I'm simply following the basic plot outline from the show and at this point writing Lucas/Maya moments fits into the story better than just writing in a random Lucas/Riley moment that doesn't help the plot develop in that chapter. There will be more Lucas/Riley moments to come, just keep in mind that after the Texas special Maya became more of a focus in the story instead of just Riley. Riley's character has had more time to develop than Maya's so this is basically Maya's turn to grow more.


	11. Chapter 11

Another day in class, another day in hell. This was the thought running through the mind of a certain blonde sitting in her desk as history class was starting to commence. This week her 2nd favorite class behind art, had become hell. With Matthews assignment on forgiveness, it had been a rough couple of days. This assignment was hard enough as it was, but it couldn't have come at a worse time. Things were already complicated enough in the blonde's life, she did not need more things to add to her struggle. Nevertheless the assignment had been handed out, and Maya now had to make a choice to either pass or fail.

"All right class, has anyone made any progress on this weeks assignment?" Corey Matthews stood in front of his desk while gazing through his students. Surprisingly for Corey every single student in class shook their heads. "What do you mean no?"

"Dad, how can you forgive someone who isn't sorry for what they've done?" Shaking his head at his daughter Corey watched his students and observed they seemed to agree with her opinion. Looking around Corey sighed "Did anyone here even try to understand why the person you are trying to forgive did the thing you're trying to forgive them for?"

Puzzled looks adorned the students of Corey's history class. Turning towards the student he knew was having more trouble Corey spoke softly. "Did your father help you understand what happened?" Shaking her head softly, the blonde sadly spoke "No."

"And why not Maya?" This simple question left Maya speechless for a few seconds as she tried to find a reason. "I guess I never gave him a chance to explain."

"Better minds know that sometimes to truly forgive someone, it helps to understand them first. It gives the other side a chance to be heard." Corey's words touched everyone's hearts, they had all been too worried about themselves to consider why they were wronged in the first place.

Looking up at her teacher, Maya whispered softly "Do you wanna hear what I had to say?' Watching the girl sadly, Corey nodded "if you're okay to share." Nodding in return the blonde reached under her desk and pulled out a piece of paper. "This was the rough draft of what I sent."

Taking a deep breath, Maya set her eyes on the page "In class we are learning about forgiveness. What you did makes me have a lot of angry feelings inside of me. Why did you leave? Did I do something? Help me understand. Your daughter Maya." As she finished reading her note aloud, every single person in the room fell deadly silent.

Seeing her best friend, her sister looking so down after reading her note, Riley felt the need to comfort her. As she was starting to move, a soft but strong hand fell onto Maya's shoulder giving it a reassuring squeeze. Freezing in her spot Riley followed the arm with her eyes until they landed in the owner of that hand. Sitting in the desk right behind Maya, sat Lucas Fryar. Lucas was leaning forward in his desk while reaching his hand out towards the blonde.

Feeling the hand, Maya slowly turned her head in surprise. When she saw who the owner of the hand was she sadly smiled for a quick second before turning back. Even though the little smile was quick, Riley had definitely seen it. Pushing whatever pain she felt in her chest upon seeing the moment aside, Riley decided to focus on Maya during these moments.

Unknown to the brunette on the other side of the blonde another set of eyes was sadly watching scene. The owner of these sad eyes was their classmate Sarah. Sarah like everyone else in the classroom couldn't even try and comprehend what the blonde was going through at the moment. All she knew was that she must be in so much emotional pain. However, her sad eyes were not just solely because she was worried about the blonde. Seeing Lucas show so much concern over the blonde wasn't easy to take in.

Ever since Lucas had transferred to their class, Sarah had developed a crush on the boy. However being the shy girl in the classroom, Sarah would rarely be able to speak a few words to the Texan. And Considering that by the time she had the courage to introduce herself to him, Lucas had already been happily accepted into Riley, Maya and Farkle's little group. Those three had been friends for years and while they were friendly to everyone else Lucas was the first person that had been allowed to join their close group. Because of this if Lucas had any free time from his club activities he spend it all with them, giving her no chance to try and get close to him.

It had quickly become apparent that the brunette of the group had feelings for the boy as well. Knowing this she had all but lost any hope she had. Even though Sarah had joined in on the teasing when Maya and Lucas had been voted favorite couple, she had mostly done it because she felt relieved that if people didn't see Lucas and Riley as a thing, then she might have a chance. Like everyone else she had quickly dismissed the chance of Maya liking Lucas so she had gotten hope. However after the group returned from their Texas trip, everyone had noticed how strange they were acting. When Maya had blurted out something had happened between her and Lucas, Riley's heart wasn't the only one who felt immense pain.

Ever since then, Sarah had honestly lost all hope. One thing was trying to compete against the 'pretty brunette' who was considered one of the greatest people to be around, a whole other thing was also competing with the 'blonde beauty' who was strong, cool and talented. Sarah's best friend Darby had always encouraged her to at least try and not give up on the boy. That is why she had approached the boy that day she found him slumped by the lockers. It had been a small conversation that day, but it had been enough for her. What was interesting was that ever since that day, Lucas would address her as he walked into class everyday with a smile. They had slowly gone from classmates to friends.

The sound of the bell, snapped the girl from her thoughts. She watched as Maya and Riley left together hand in hand. As most students left the classroom, Darby gave her a soft shove while glancing at Lucas who was still collecting his things while talking with Zay and Farkle. Understanding what she meant, Sarah followed Darby's advice and slowly walked over to Lucas. Feeling someone watching him Lucas looked up to see Sarah standing there looking a little nervous. "Oh hey Sarah, what's up?"

Taking a deep breath, Sarah spoke while looking down at the floor "I was wondering if um, maybe you could help me with the homework from math." Not thinking much from it, Lucas nodded "sure. I'm free today around 5. Is that good?" honestly not expecting him to say yes, and much less expecting it to be so soon, the girl bit her lip. "Um.. yea that's fine." As she looked to the side she saw Darby glaring at her to continue. Taking the sign, Sarah turned back towards Lucas "How about at Topanga's? That way I can buy you a smoothie as a thank you."

Softly smiling, Lucas nodded to the girl as he grabbed the rest of his belongings. "Sounds great, see you there." As the girl left to join her friend, Lucas turned around and was met with glares from his two closest friends. Raising an eyebrow Lucas looked on in confusion "What?"

It was Zay who spoke first "what do you think you're doing Lucas?" "Yeah Lucas! What's going on between you two?" Came Farkle's question. "Nothing guys, just helping out a friend." Narrowing his eyes Farkle glared at his friend "I meant what I said back in Texas Lucas. I won't just sit by and let anyone hurt Riley and Maya, even you."

"I don't know what you guys are talking about, I have to go. Later." Leaving his friends behind Lucas took off somewhere in a hurry. The way he had left worried his friends, the hoped that what they were thinking was wrong. Because if they were right, both Maya and Riley would be heart broken and that was not fine with them. Lucas was their best friend, but they also cared about the girls a lot, so the though of him hurting them, brought serious looks on their faces as they headed through the school halls.


	12. Chapter 12

Resting on a nearby wall, a small rounded clock read 5:35 p.m. A blonde and a brunette sat by in one of the couches of 'Topanaga's'. These two girls, were not the usual pair of blonde and brunette who usually sat in that spot. These two were Sarah and Darby, another pair of great friends and fellow classmates of Riley and Maya.

For the past hour both girls had sat patiently waiting the arrival of a certain person. This person was supposed to appear at 5. The girls had arrived early out of anxiousness and nervousness. Now half an hour after the predetermined time, the brunette of the pair looked down in sadness. "He stood me up Darby." Grabbing her friend's shoulders the blonde looked at her sad face "Sarah, we both know Lucas isn't like that so just give him a break."

Nodding quietly the brunette stayed still for another few minutes until a tall shadow towered over her. Looking up the girl saw Lucas Fryar, panting heavily. "Hey, sorry Sarah something came up, sorry i'm late though." Regaining her shy smile, Sarah stood up. "It's okay Lucas, Darby has been keeping me company."

Turning towards the blonde, Lucas smiled "Hey Darby, how are you?" Returning the smile, Darby stood up "I'm fine, thanks for asking Lucas. However I have to go meet up Yogi so i'll see you guys later." Quickly leaving the scene, Darby left behind a very nervous brunette who didn't know what to do. As Lucas took a seat, Sarah took hers next to him and pulled out her books in order to get the homework done.

At first things were slightly awkward. Lucas was doing most of the talking while Sarah would mostly just nod along while trying not to embarrass herself. After some time, the work was finished, and the pair found themselves sitting down enjoying their smoothies. Lucas had taken it upon himself to start off a conversation with the girl, and soon enough the girl started coming out of her shell and became more talkative. Soon the pair found themselves laughing along and having a pretty good time.

Unknown to the pair, for the last 15 minutes a beautiful girl had stood on the outside of 'Topanga's' watching the scene. This blonde was not Sarah's friend Darby, rather it was the 'Blonde Beauty' herself Maya Hart. Originally planning on going to get a smoothie and relax from all that had transpired lately, Maya had stopped dead in her tracks upon seeing Lucas getting 'overly friendly' with another girl. Even though for the better part of two years she had hid her feelings, and was able to for the most part act naturally at the thought of Lucas and Riley being together, seeing him now with Sarah brought huge amount of pain in her chest.

Maya truly believed that with enough effort if Lucas chose Riley, then she would be able to get over it and be happy for them eventually. However the thought of him choosing someone else greatly bothered here, she was fine loosing Lucas to her sister Riley. This was because she was willing to sacrifice her own happiness for her best friend. However if the cowboy chose someone else, then both girls would be greatly hurt, and even if they tried to be happy for him they would still be in constant pain.

Maya felt incredibly selfish feeling this way but she couldn't help it, ever since she had gotten passionate about art and met Shawn, Maya had slowly begun to feel hope in life. This hope had caused her to be more open to possibilities of great things. This had its downside in that there was also the possibility of that 'hope' to be for naught. Deciding she should not look on anymore, the blonde girl turned preparing to leave.

As she looked around, Maya saw a boy sitting by the steps leading to 'Topanga's'. This boy was looking intently towards her with a sorrowful expression. "What's got you all down Zay? Did the cows not give milk today?" Trying to joke her way out of talking about what she knew was really troubling Zay, the blonde forced a smirk onto her face.

Being used to her banter by now, Zay failed to fall for her baiting. "Nice try Hart. I might have fallen for that if I hadn't watched you gazing into that window like a lost puppy for the last 15 minutes." Scowling at his remark, Maya tried to leaved but found it impossible as Zay was blocking her exit by sitting at the steps. "Move it Babineaux, or I'll mess you up."

This kind of threat had always worked wonders for the blonde in the past. Which is why she was shocked as she saw a smirk appear of the face of the boy. "You think I won't do it Zay?" Glaring at the boy, the blonde was met with a proud expression adorning his face. "I know you won't. And you know why?"

"Why? Chuckling the boy leaned comfortably in his seat. "Because if you remember i'm under Lucas's protection. That means you try anything and all I have to do is call his name and he'll come running out of the shop and be here next to me. Then you would have to explain why you looked like a lost little puppy while watching him and Sarah to him directly. So it's really your choice, would you like to talk to just me, or Lucas and I together."

Dropping her head in defeat the blonde took a seat next to the Texas Native. After a moment of silence Zay sighed. "Say Maya, why do you like Lucas?" Looking up at her friend the blonde gazed at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, we all know exactly the reasons why Lucas means so much to Riley. I just have a feeling your reasons might be different than hers." Looking into her mind trying to find a way to answer the blonde stood. "Walk me home and i'll explain, I don't want Lucas coming out and hearing this."

Understanding the girl , Zay stood and walked by her side as she began explaining her feelings. "Do you know why people say Riley and I are the a perfect fit as friends?" Shaking his head softly Zay replied "Not really, no."

"It's because we both have our own great qualities just like everyone does. And like everyone else we also have bad qualities. The thing is that we balance each other out. The things that Riley is lacking in I am good at, while the things I fail at Riley exceeds in. I'm the dark and she's the light. Together she illuminates my life and gives me hope, while I help darken her perfect view on the world, helping her get a true view on life and not just a fantasy."

Never really thinking about things that deeply Zay had failed to realize how truly important both girls were to the other. Without the other neither girl would be as great as they are with the influence of the other. Maya would be a dark, lost soul who would never look ahead in life in wonder. Riley on the other hand would be even more irrationally hopeful that everything in life becomes great, this would make the harsh reality of the world be simply too much for her and she would crumble under the pressure.

"I get it. But what does this have to to with Lucas?" Keeping her gaze straight ahead the blonde softly sighed. "Lucas is the full embodiment of Riley and Maya." Raising his eyebrow in extreme confusion Zay watched the girl. "He's positive about life, would do anything for his friends. He's one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. He will never give up on his friends, and he.. he's just a great guy."

Staying silent Zay waited for her to continue. "While he has all those great qualities Lucas is something more. He's impulsive, has a dark past. He's not afraid to do absolutely anything to protect his friends. He's filled with anger and pain. However his two sides balance each other out just like Riley and I do. Just like Riley and I are great because we are together, Lucas is great because of his two sides. He's the best and worst of Riley and Maya, His heart has the lightness that is Riley, while sharing room with the darkness that is me. Lucas is what Riley and Maya would be if they were one. He is the embodiment of us."

Finally understanding the blonde Zay softly smiled. "You love him don't you?" Finally reaching her home Maya stopped and turned to Zay. "I don't know Zay. That's not something that's easy to figure out. I care for him. But I don't know if it's to that extent."

Nodding to the girl, Zay found himself pulling her in for a hug. Surprisingly Maya returned the hug without question as her voice softened. "Do me a favor Zay?" Pulling back from the hug, Zay nodded "Of course."

Smiling softly the blonde looked at her friend "just like you were there for me today, be there for Riley when she needs it." Nodding to the girl with a big smile, Zay replied "of course after all I want you both to be happy." As he turned around to head back home, Zay couldn't resist from spilling out one last remark "However even though I want Riley to be happy, i'll be rooting for you Hart, don't give up on your Huckleberry, go get 'em."

Staring at the boy as he walked away Maya felt herself blush by his statement. How dare he say something like that? Then again knowing that Luca's oldest friend was rooting for her brought a small smile to her face. Shaking her head the blonde watched the retreating boy. "Stupid cowboy."


	13. Chapter 13

'Topanga's' A nice little 'cafe' type of establishment. Having previously been a bakery, the establishment had been around for many years. After the passing of the previous owner, the property came into the hands of her business partner and good friend Topanga Matthews. After some remodeling and rebranding 'Topanga's' was born. The current establishment, appealed to a younger crowd, and quickly became a hangout for many teens in the neighbourhood. A few of these teens happened to be very well acquainted with the current owner. Being her daughter, and her friends.

Currently inside the estasblishment, were two gorgeous girls spending time with their parents. A blonde mother and daughter pair, accompanied by a fatherly looking man. With them were a trio of mother, father and daughter.

As the blonde mother looked towards her daughhter, she noticed her sad quiet expression. "You okay baby girl?" Looking up from her smoothie, the young blonde gave her mother a weak smile. "Yea mom."

This small group had gathered to be there for one of their own. Maya Hart had been going through difficult times. Everyone who loved the blonde had gathered to spend time with her. Things had gone decently well for the group. Some laughs and smiles spread through them. However the blonde beauty still felt pain due to recent events.

The rest of the group did not give up trying to make the girl forget her worries and they did their absolute best. Everyone was telling silly stories or just talking about good times. For the most part Maya tuned out these stories, she would normally love these stories but her mind couldn't shake what had been happening.

"What are you doing here? I thought you left?" Turning around to the sound of her mother's voice, Maya set her eyes onto the entrance door. Standing there was none other than a man named Kermit, Maya's father. Staring wide-eyed at her father Maya whispered softly. "I assumed you would be half way home by now. Why didn't you leave?"

Gripping Maya's letter in his hands, Kermit watched his daughter. "I did. I was halfway home and I saw this. In this you say you have alot of anger, well I want to help you with that." Looking around the room, Kermit saw a few unsure looks on people's faces. "I know you all are very important to Maya, but if I could I would like to borrow her for a quick minute."

Looking toward her daughter, Katy saw Maya take a deep breathe and stand on her feet. "Baby girl?" Giving her mother a small smile, Maya nodded. "I'm okay, I'll be right back."

Now finding herself sitting in front of her father outside of 'Topanga's', Maya felt her heart beat at a million times its normal rate. "What did I do dad? Why did you leave me? Why wasn't I enough?" Tears spilled from her eyes as she finally asked the questions her heart had wanted to ask for many years.

"None of this was you Maya. It was all me. I couldn't provide comfort for you. I blew every pay check and ruined every job. I knew what I was doing was bad, but I kept doing it. And when you know you're not good for people, you start not to show up. And when you dont show up enough times, you feel like people would be better off fully without you. So you leave." Finally pouring his heart out to his daughter, Kermit let out a tear of his own.

"You're there for your new family aren't you? What did they do that I didn't? Why are they worth staying and i'm not?" Gripping the edges of her seat, Maya hart looked at the man who was her father in pain.

"Maya, you were just a little girl. You did nothing wrong. It was all me. I failed as a husband and father. I wasn't ready for that kind of responsibility so I ran. But I believe i've changed. I'm a new person. These people don't know who I was, only who I am today and they believe in me."

Hearing her fathers words only served to worsen her feelings of the situation. "And who are you then?"

Looking at his beautiful daughter, Kermit knew he had no pardon for what he had done to her. "I got a job and I managed to keep it. I came back to tell you that I am grateful for you reaching out to me. I am sorry for what I did to you... and I am happy you grew up to be an incredible young lady."

"You found a job huh?" Nodding to his daughter's question, Kermit watched her trying to figure out what she was feeling. "Well you're job was to stay with your family." Rising to her feet Maya took a deep breath. "Thank you for coming all this way and telling me your side. My teacher believes that if I can forgive you it can bring me peace of mind. He's a strange teacher but he's usually right about this sort of thing, I just can't see how he's right about this one. You left me, no matter what reasons you had you still abandoned a little girl who wanted nothing more than to have a father. So you had flaws, we all do. When you truly care about someone you work on those flaws with them, you grow together. You don't think I also had it in me to allow my father to grow as a person? I'm glad I wrote to you and heard what you had to say. And knowing it wasn't my fault makes me feel better. All this time I thought it was my fault somehow, but it's not. I didn't do anything."

Gripping his daughter's letter in his hand, Kermit felt like the worst kind of human being on the planet at that moment. Maya was completely right, he had no good reason for what he did, he was simply selfish and irresponsible. "For whatever it's worth, I'm sorry Maya. You turned out great."

Taking a deep breath, Maya Hart walked back into 'Topanga's'. There she was instantly met with the people she loved. Walking up to Mr. Matthews, Maya fought back her tears. "I'm sorry. I failed. I know you wanted me to forgive me but I couldn't."

"I never expected that Maya. That kind of forgiveness doesn't come so easy." Looking at Matthews in confusion, Maya felt a strong hand on her shoulder and turned around to see Shawn Hunter. "He's right kid. Trust me. But life is a long time and someday we hope you'll get there. But that's not what Corey was looking for right now. That wasn't your assignment."

As Maya looked back and forth between Shawn and Corey, Corey smiled at his best friend for understanding his plan. "What did you want from me?"

Patting Shawn on the shoulder, Corey stepped out of the way as Shawn stepped in front of the blonde. "Maya tell us. Did you forgive yourself?" Widening her eyes at the revelation, Maya burst into tears and burried her face into Shawn's chest, as his arms enveloped her. This whole assignment had always been for Maya to forgive herself for what had happned. To stop blaming herself and realize it wasn't her fault.

As every eye in the establishment focused on the scene, a sad smile adorned many faces. Maya had finally made a huge step in life, and even though it had been hard, they all knew it had been worth it.


	14. Chapter 14

"Lucas wait up!" Running after his athletic friend, proved to be a hard task for Farkle Minkus. However the importance of this subject made it matter enough to accomplish his goal of catching up to Lucas before he made it into the cafeteria for lunch.

"What's up Farkle?' Turning towards one of his best friends, Lucas stopped in his tracks. As the genius tried to catch his breath, he struggled to speak. "We... ne.. need. to.. tal... talk." Noticing his friends state, Lucas helped him take a seat against the wall so he could rest.

After a few minutes, Farkle composed himself and gave Lucas a determined gaze. "We need to talk about what exactly is going on with you and Sarah." Rolling his eyes at his friend, Lucas shook his head. "You're still on this Farkle?"

"Lucas i'm a genius. I can tell something more than a normal friendship is happening between you too." Looking up at his best friend the genius was having none of Lucas' lies. "Zay told me he saw you two at 'Topanga's'. According to him you and Sarah were doing much more flirting than studying. Now normally I wouldn't trust Zay's opinion on matters of relationships, but considering how well he knows you, it's safe to assume he has some sort of basis for his claims. Am I wrong?"

Looking away from his friend Lucas sighed. "Farkle even if there was anything like that going on, I can make my own choices, I can be with whoever I want."

"That's true Lucas, but we both know you clearly want either Riley or Maya. I think you're trying to separate yourself from them because your scared." Taking a page from Maya's book, Lucas tried to play things off as a joke. "Nice deducing there Sherlock."

Rolling his eyes Farkle stood on his feet. "Lucas. I don't have time for games. You clearly don't have as strong feelings for Sarah as you do for the girls. I told you, I wouldn't let anyone hurt them and I stand by that. You current 'plan' will hurt them and I can't allow that."

"Listen Farkle, I appreciate you looking out for the girls, but hypothetically wouldn't it be better for them if a guy wasn't coming in between them?" As he looked inside the cafeteria, Lucas' eyes fell upon the pair of girls he cared for the most. "Those two deserve each other, they need each other. What kind of guy would I be if I risked breaking up their great bond just for a date." Shaking his head softly, Lucas groaned. "You know what they say. Relationships come and go, but true friendships are forever."

"Lucas... Once you fully commit to this plan, you can never go back. Once you cast aside Riley and Maya, no matter how much you all care for each other things will definitely not go back to how they were before."

"If I choose either one of them, i'll loose the type of relationship I had with the other. They may even resent the other because I chose one. What i'm doing now is the best option. This way if anything they'll resent me but still have their relationship intact." Making up his mind Lucas Fryar began walking away from his genius friend. "This is the right choice Farkle, it's whats best for them."

Looking at his best friend as he walked away, Farkle felt lost. What could he do to help his friends? Would they ever be true friends again? Many questions invaded the genius's mind driving him insane.

"Told you Farkle. That guy would sacrifice everything for his friends no matter what?" Turning around towards the owner of the voice, Farkle spotted Zay. Leaning against a wall Zay continues. "He will always do what he thinks is the best way to protect his friends. It's his best quality and biggest flaw."

Shaking his head Farkle sighed. "I just wished he would rely more on his friends and talk things through with the girls instead of this."

"True but he's just like the girls, they all care about others happiness more than their own, and would sacrifice everything for it." Turning towards the cafeteria, Zay watched the girls as they sat together looking glum. "They just don't understand that their way of doing things, leaves everything worse."

* * *

Sorry it's a short chapter but it's something. I've been noticing a repetitive review for awhile now. This review is simply the word "Update". Since it is left on guest I can not respond so as to figure out what this person wishes. I love receiving reviews and reading what people have to say. Even if it's telling me to "please update soon" or "keep updating" I'm happy reading that. Even the simple word update would be fine except it has gotten to a point where around 1/3 of my current reviews are just the word "Update". I sometimes receive it hours after I post a new chapter. Other times the day before I regularly post, or a few days. My schedule is to update this story on Wednesdays, Unless it comes to the point that I'm ahead enough in writing where i'm finished with the story and want to post it the rest at once I will not post any other days. This consistent review has gotten me to the point that I no longer feel desire to read the reviews. Normally I read all reviews and If I have a question for that person or feel the need to add my input I will reply to that person. As I mentioned it has come to the point that when I receive a notification of a new review, I don't even feel like checking them anymore, knowing that lately most of the reviews have just been that. I would much rather receive reviews bashing my story, than the same review constantly without explanation. If you are the one leaving these reviews please explain what exactly you mean by them or what you wish for it to accomplish. If this I guess "rant" discourages you from continuing reading this story, I apologize and wish you the best.


	15. Chapter 15

"Okay you two, start talking before I mess you up." This intimidating sentence came forth from the 'blonde beauty'. Currently being in the privacy of a bedroom were four good friends. After a long day at school, the girls had invited the boys over to relax. This what was they had told them at least. The girls had other reasons behind their invitation to their friends. These two girls had started noticing the strange behavior of another one of their friends Lucas Fryar and they needed answers.

For this reason, the girls had invited their other two friends who were very close to Lucas in order to try and figure things out. Currently standing in front of the boys blocking their escape as they sat at the bay window, the girls held their hands by their hips.

"Talk about what Hart?" Looking up at his blonde friend, Zay asked in curiosity while his friend sitting next to him seemed to shrink into his seat at the sound of the blonde's voice. Narrowing her eyes at the boy, the blonde's voice deepened. "You know exactly what i'm talking about cowboy so spill it." Zay being the smart mouth that he was, responded with a smirk on his face. "Whatever could you mean Maya?"

Suddenly Zay felt the neckline of his shirt being pulled, as he found himself being face to face with an incredibly angry looking blonde. "Talk or scream in pain Babineaux. Your choice?" Holding his breath, Zay cursed his luck. His damn mouth had gotten him in trouble once more and this time Lucas wasn't around to help. As he was seeing his life flashing before his eyes preparing for his death, Zay felt the pressure on his shirt loosen its grip.

As he payed attention to the girls in front of him, he saw Riley with her hand on Maya's shoulder trying to calm her down. "Maya... Breathe okay, relax. That's not the way to handle things." Growling in frustration, the blonde released Zay and took a step back.

Stepping forward Riley decided to try a different approach. "Farkle, Zay would you guys like to share with us, your friends who you love, what exactly is going on with Lucas." Receiving a smile in return from said friends, Riley smiled widely as she felt a nice approach was always best. "Thanks for asking nicely Riley I appreciate it. But no, we would prefer to not talk about that if it's all the same to you." As Zay finished his sentence with a big smile on his face, his smile started wavering upon a certain sight. As he looked upon the brunette's eyes, Zay saw a sight he had never seen before from the girl. This sight was anger dwelling in the eyes of Riley Matthews. "Maya. Get him!"

"WHAT?!" Yelling out in shock at her request of their blonde friend, Zay felt the urge to make a break for it. His escape was stopped before it even started by a certain blonde. He suddenly found himself being pinned against the window with a forearm against his neck. "Talk Babineaux!"

Shifting his eyes toward his friend, Zay pleaded. "Farkle. Help me." Instead of receiving help from his so called friend, Zay was left to fend for himself as Farkle was too scared of Maya to make any sudden movements. Looking towards Riley, Zay was met with a brunette looking away from the sight. Feeling himself struggling to catch his breath, Zay gave up. "Okay... I'll talk..."

Releasing the boy, Maya glared at him. "Then talk." As Zay had finally complied to their request, Riley turned her head back in his direction. Originally having turned away because she hated seeing her friends needing help, and knowing she wouldn't be able to resist his plea for help.

As Zay found no other choice, giving off a defeated sigh he looked at his friends. "What would you like to know?"

"Zay, Farkle you two are Lucas's best friends. He trusts you two with all the guy stuff that he can't talk to us about." Speaking to the boys, Riley felt herself relax and returned to her usual smile. As she received nods from the boys, Riley's smile grew. "Lately Lucas barely talks to us and always seems to have an excuse as to why he can't hang out with us. And he's also..." Feeling her words getting stuck in her throat as she tried finishing her sentence Riley struggled to speak.

Noticing her friends' inner struggle Maya stepped forward to take over. "Huckleberry's been seemingly hanging out a lot with Sarah, Darby and Yogi." Unlike Riley who quickly looked away because of who was mentioned, Maya kept looking at her own friends. Even though she was feeling the same things that Riley was, the blonde was much more able to keep her emotions from showing. As she was watching her friend's reactions, Maya felt more a sharp pain in her chest because of it. Their facial reactions showed that not only did they know this, but that they had a very good idea of why Lucas was being this way. Not only that but they seemed to not be very happy about his reason.

"Guys... What's with those looks? What do you know?" Loosing her composure as a result of their reactions, the blonde found herself having difficulties letting her words out as well. Taking a deep breath, Zay stood up as a result fo Farkle freezing in his spot. Knowing he was the only one of the pair who could still speak up, Zay had no choice but to go against his survival instincts and face the wrath of the girls. "Listen yea Lucas has been blowing us off lately. Not only you two but us as well. However it's not up to us to spill Lucas's reasons. Talk to him and ask him yourself."

Noticing Maya's not so happy look, Zay bolted out the window milliseconds before the blonde lunged at his previous spot. Kneeling outside the bay window, Zay watched the blonde's every movement in fear of his life. As he watched her, his eyes slightly shifted and fell upon the brunette in the room. Riley was looking incredibly glum because of his words and he felt incredibly guilty. "Maya, Riley. Lucas is our best friend, I've known him practically my whole life. Even though this is the case I don't agree with his reason for doing all this. But we can't just force him to change his mind. We are his best friends, but he cares more about you two than anyone else. If you want to get to the bottom of this and fix things talk to him. The three of you are due for a very long talk anyway. I'm sorry but that's the way it's gotta be."

Even though Maya wanted nothing more than to beat down the slippery cowboy, his words provided some comfort to her. Turning toward her sister, Maya saw Riley regain a small smile because of what Zay had said. Zay did not believe him or Farkle could get through to Lucas, however he felt that Riley and Maya would be able to. His statement that Lucas cared more about them than he did about anyone else made each girl feel leagues better than before. Even if they were still scared, If Lucas's oldest friend still believed that, then they had some hope of working things out with the boy.

"Thank you Zay, we'll take your advice." Softly smiling at the boy, the 'pretty brunette' leaned against her blonde friend. Watching the scene in front of them, both boys smiled. "Come on Farkle, let's go." Motioning for his friend to follow, Zay started leaving the premises. As Farkle started crawling out of the apartment, he turned towards his oldest friends. "Don't be to tough on Lucas. He believes what he's doing is right. When you three talk, try and understand each other. I want us to be great friends again. Good luck."

Taking out their cellphones both girls looked at each other and knew what to do. A subway ride away at a park, a tall teen boy felt his cell phone vibrate as he was sitting with some friends hanging out. Pulling out his phone to check his notifications, the boy found that he had two messages. Both messages conveyed the same information and made the boy's heart momentarily stop.

Maya: Huckleberry we need to talk asap.

Riley: Lucas... we need to talk soon. Please...


	16. Chapter 16

Pacing back and forth on a nearly empty subway, Lucas Fryar ran his hands through his now incredibly messy hair. Groaning out loud, the Texas native pressed his forehead against a pole trying to use the coldness to calm him down.

After the day's classes, Lucas had slithered his way out of hanging out with his closest group of friends. After having decided on what route he wanted to take this whole ordeal, he felt that being near the girls would make it difficult for him not to act on his feelings. He loved his friends but he couldn't be around the girls, and the guys would keep nagging on him to be honest and that wouldn't be pleasant for the boy.

Having spent the majority of the afternoon with a different group of friends, Lucas had found himself putting on a fake smile the majority of the time. Sarah, Darby and Yogi were all good people and great company, however he simply did not have the connection with them that he had with his closest friends. Slowly he had begun getting closer to the group, specifically Sarah. Although they were now decently close he simply couldn't feel as at ease with them as he did with his closest friends.

But as Lucas had come to a decision, he came to the conclusion that he needed to give them a fair chance. This is why Lucas had stopped hanging out with his usual friends, and begun to hang out with this new group to see if they could have a connection.

After slithering away from his friends, Lucas met up with this new group at a local park. They had spend a few hours simply talking and walking around. Lucas had found himself having fun, however something just felt off about the whole thing. As the group found themselves at a couple of benches, they feel into a relaxed state. Yogi and Darby were off in a bench in front of Lucas doing their usual corny couple antics. Sitting next to the cowboy was Darby's best friend, a great girl named Sarah.

Lucas was able to realize that Sarah may be feeling things towards him that exceed a simple friendship. He had personally never before thought of Sarah in that way. After thinking things through, Lucas figured he had never really given the girl a proper chance. This is a main reason behind their new found friendship.

As Lucas and Sarah sat awkwardly next to each other they found themselves trying to act normally around Yogi and Darby's over the top affection. This proved to be difficult as they had sat in complete silence for over 10 minutes before a faint buzzing sound broke their silence.

Turning towards Lucas, Sarah saw him reach into his pocket and retrieve his cell phone. Even knowing it may be a personal thing, Sarah found herself unable to take her eyes off Lucas' phone screen. As Lucas checked his notifications, Sarah saw the names of the people he had received. Two simple names had never brought so much pain to her heart. 'Maya' 'Riley'. Quickly dropping her head as a result of what she had read, Sarah fell even more silent.

After reading through his messages, Lucas instantly tensed up. Turning to face the person next to him Lucas noticed Sarah's now gloomy mood. Not knowing what to do in concern for her Lucas was at a loss.

"I got to go do something. Sorry I'll see you guys later." Walking away before they even had time to react Lucas Fryar sped away from the park. His new found friends were left speechless by his departure.

Back to present time, the subway came to a stop as Lucas Fryar softly banged his head against a pole as he let out a deep sigh. Exiting the subway station, Lucas kept trying to have an excuse to not show up. However he knew that since they were so sure that they needed to speak if he didn't show up there would be hell to pay.

As Lucas reached Riley's apartment building, he came up with one final plan to get away from this all. Instead of heading up through the fire escape as usual Lucas headed straight to the front door of Riley's apartment. Based on the time of day, Mr. Matthews was for sure home, and was for sure near the front door.

As he knew that Mr. Matthews hated him going into his daughters room, Lucas felt that he would get kicked out and would have a great reason to skip out on this conversation. Reaching the front door, Lucas took a deep breath and knocked. After a moment of silence, the door opened and to the relief of Lucas, Corey Matthews stood in the doorway.

"I'm here to go go into your daughter's room sir." Using a sentence he knew would get under Matthew's skin, Lucas felt peace. This peace was short lived however as Corey Matthews sighed and stepped aside. "The girls are waiting for you. Don't hurt them or i'll hurt you Mr. Fryar."

Looking at Mr. Matthews in shock, Lucas couldn't believe Matthews was okay with all of this. "Hurry up Mr. Fryar, if I were you I wouldn't keep them waiting any longer." Noticing his shock, Corey Matthews held back his urge to chase the boy away from his 'girls'. Corey knew they needed to have an important conversation, so he held back his urges and motioned for the boy to enter.

Taking a deep breath Lucas Fryar stepped into the apartment and made his way towards Riley's bedroom while shaking in his every step. Every second until he reached the door, Lucas held his breath out of fear. He knew exactly what conversation was coming up and he wasn't looking forward to it at all. He had decided to separate himself from the girls for a reason, and know he was paying for that decision by being forced to be alone with the girls and have a serious talk.

Reaching the door, Lucas Fryar took a deep breath and knocked on the door. As Lucas looked upon his feet in angst, a soft voice came from the other side of the door. "Come in Lucas." Muttering one last silent prayer, Lucas Fryar opened the bedroom door and walked in. He was greeted by the sight of two incredibly gorgeous girls sitting side by side in the iconic bay window.

As the girls laid their eyes onto him, Lucas noticed the sad look in each of their eyes. Shimmering eyes adorned the two beautiful teens watching his every move. As Lucas took a deep breath and began walking towards the girls, they scooted slightly away from each other leaving an empty space in between them just for him.

Taking a seat in between the girls, Lucas shifted nervously at their closeness. Glancing at the girls Lucas saw pain, confusion and not much hope on their faces. They looked defeated, plain and simple. Figuring the blonde to his right would be much more capable of speaking during these times, Lucas set his eyes onto her indicating he was waiting for her to speak. He watched as the blonde's lips trembled as she tried to speak. This sight made Lucas Fryar feel like a horrible human being.

As he was about to open his own mouth, an unanticipated voice rang out from his right. "Lucas..." Turning towards his 'pretty brunette' Lucas Fryar saw in her the same pain that adorned the blonde. However unlike the blonde, Riley Matthews seemed to have the will to power through her fears and pains to speak to him.

Watching the girls, Lucas was reminded why they meant the world to him, and why he would give up anything for them. "Riley... Maya... I'm sorry..."


	17. Chapter 17

"Riley... Maya... I'm sorry." Four little words that should have no power over anyone had shaken the girls hearts to the very core. These four words coming from the mouth of the boy they both adored brought a single tear to the beautiful girls sitting by the bay window. These simple words backed Zay's claim that they could get through to Lucas.

"I know I've been a horrible friend lately and you all deserve an explanation. All I can say is that I know what i'm doing even if it doesn't seem that I do." Keeping his eyes focused on the floor in front of him Lucas tried to explain himself while avoiding truly letting them know his reasons. Because he knew he was being shady in his explanation Lucas avoided their gaze out of fear.

"Lucas... We like you... If you don't like either one of us just let us know. Don't avoid us and push us away because you can't tell us you don't return our feelings. And don't just stick around us because you feel sorry for us." Staring at the boy next to her, Riley Matthews voiced the concerns coming from herself and her blonde best friend.

Looking up from the floor, Lucas Fryar set his eyes on the sad brunette. "Riley... I... I have my reasons for doing things. But the last thing I would want to do is hurt you two. Both of you are incredibly important to me. I wouldn't be who I am today if it wasn't for you two."

Gripping the edge of her current seat, the blonde sitting quietly silently cursed herself. She was being weak and letting her emotions be stronger than her will. Even Riley Matthews the girl who always needed her to step in when it came to emotional topics was talking bravely to Lucas. Riley was saying everything Maya wanted to say. She had the strength that at that current moment Maya was lacking. As Maya tried to control her inner emotions she kept a sharp ear tuned into the current conversation.

"Lucas... You are very important to the both of us as well. We both have feelings for you, but we care about your happiness also. If you'd rather not hang out with us anymore then at least give us a reason. If you'd rather be with someone other than us, then let us know so we aren't fixated on you waiting for a response that will never come." Pouring her heart out to the boy of her dreams, Riley Matthews shed a few tears as she watched Lucas tense up at her every word. Wiping off her tears, Riley took a deep breath to calm herself down as she was starting to loose composure. "We deserve to know what you want in all of this. You know what we want, let us know what Lucas wants. At least that way we can come out of this with our friendship still alive. Because if things keep proceeding the way they are now, i'm afraid we'll loose your friendship forever, and the last 2 years would be left as painful reminders of what could've been for our friendship."

With every word she spoke Riley shed a tear in response. By the time she was finished speaking, she was pouring tears from her eyes. This heart breaking sight was not gone unnoticed. Riley's friends who were currently sitting by her watched as the pretty brunette lost her composure and tears rand down her pretty face.

"Riley... I" As Lucas began trying to say anything to the brunette, he felt a sharp sting on his arm. Quickly grabbing his arm and rubbing it in reflex, Lucas turned towards Maya and saw a furious blonde with a good amount of tears herself running down her cheeks. "You stupid cowboy! You made my Riley cry!"

Being so focused on her best friend, Maya failed to notice how she was also crying over the situation. "Maya... it's okay.. It's not his fault. Besides you're crying too peaches, don't worry about me so much." Turning her head away from her two friends, Maya Hart tried to hide her face full of tears. "It is the damn cowboy's fault, if he wasn't so shady with us you wouldn't be crying. And Maya Hart never cries, your tears are clouding your vision."

Even with a face full of tears, the pretty brunette couldn't help but crack a small smile at her best friend's reaction. Keeping her eyes on her stubborn friend Riley Matthews began to wipe the tears of her face while the smile never faded away.

Meanwhile in the center of all of this, Lucas watched both girls and thought about if what he was doing was the right thing. Both girls meant the world to him, he would die for them. Their happiness was overwhelming more important to him than his own. Lucas knew the pros and cons and whichever path he chose to take, and based on this knowledge, he weighed the decisions in his mind as he watched the most important people in his life.

Reaching over Lucas took a hold of his brunette's soft, delicate hand. As the girl tensed up at his touch Lucas gave her a small smile, while he reached his other had and took a hold of his blonde's tough but equally delicate hand. Maya hart instantly tensed up and turned her head towards the boy. Seeing Riley's hand in Lucas' as well, brought her a mixed feeling of confusion and heartbreak.

Noticing the confused and depressed expression on both girls face, Lucas took a deep breath. Slowly Lucas began to bring each girls hand towards him closer and closer. With each passing millisecond Lucas felt the girls hands tense up and tighten their grip on him. As their hands finally reached in front of him, Lucas brought both girls hands together watching as the girls joined hands. "It's Riley and Maya until the end of time. You girls mean a lot to me, but not as much as you mean to each other. I can never offer you what you can offer yourselves. What you have is special and no other friendship nor any relationship can ever come close to that special connection."

Watching the girls relax as soon as their hands joined, Lucas knew he was correct. "I want nothing but the best for you two. True happiness, love and friendship is what I want you girls to accomplish. These things are accomplished when you two are together. My feelings for you two or anyone else aside, I could never dream of coming between the most beautiful friendship I have ever seen."

As Lucas finished giving a sort of explanation for his recent behavior, he saw a few more tears escapes the girls eyes all the while beautiful smiles adorned their faces. As the girls released each others hands, Lucas stood on his feet and began walking towards the bedroom door.

"Lucas wait!" Raising her voice at the boy, Riley Matthews got up and sprinted over to him. Just as Lucas fully turned around Riley embraced him in a tight hug. Spending a few seconds trying to process what had occurred, Lucas finally relaxed at smiled at the girl's outburst. Slightly leaning downward, Lucas planted a soft small kiss onto the brunette's head.

As Riley released Lucas, he noticed the blonde still sitting by the window looking away from the scene. Instantly knowing why she was acting this way, Lucas made his way over to the blonde. As he stopped in front of the girl, Lucas noticed she was still looking away from him as she gripped her seat. "Maya."

Taking a deep breath, the blonde turned her head towards the boy who had spoken her name. Looking up at him, Maya watched as he slowly leaned down towards her. As she felt a soft touch on her forehead, Maya now felt relaxed as the result of the soft kiss Lucas had given her.

Straightening up, Lucas turned and once more began walking towards the bedroom door. As he started exiting the bedroom, Lucas turned back and looked at the girls. "I hope we can be friends. I love you girls." Finishing is statement, Lucas closed the door and left the girls once more alone in the bedroom.

As both girls recovered from his emotional words, they once again found themselves seated at the bay window side by side joined at the hand. As Riley softly leaned against Maya, she softly whispered. "Peaches?"

"Yea Riley." Feeling Riley's grip tighten on her hand, Maya watched her in concern. "I think I love him..." Felling an intense pain in her chest, the blonde let out a deep sigh as she leaned against her best friend. "I think I do too Riles."

* * *

Thanks to whoever notified me I am misspelling Lucas' last name. Legitimately thought that I had looked it up to make sure, but guess I was out of it or read something else that messed me up. Anyway I will keep it spelled the same as how it was simply because 1. It would be weird to me to change the spelling of the name so far into the story. And 2. I'm simply too lazy to go back and recheck every chapter to change the spelling, even though it would take only a few minutes.


	18. Chapter 18

"Girls what happened?" Looking down onto two very sad girls, Topanga Matthews voiced her concern. Before Lucas' arrival the girls had been nervous wrecks. After Lucas' departure Topanga entered her daughters bedroom, and found the two girls sitting side by side leaning against each other with sad looks upon their faces.

As Lucas was leaving looking rather glum himself, Topanga noticed that Corey did not interrogate the boy and just let him leave. Everyone understood the severity of the situation and was being very respectful of everything. Even though she felt that this was something the girls should figure out on their own, Topanga's motherly instincts over powered her logic.

As one of the heads turned upwards, Topanga made eye contact with her incredibly sad daughter Riley. "Nothing mom." Looking back an forth between the two girls, Topanga found the normal roles reversed as Maya was now the quiet of the pair, and Riley seem to be the most able to talk at the current moment.

"Sweetie..." Looking upon her girls in concern, Topanga questioned the honesty of her daughter's statement. "Mom, we learned part of Lucas' reasons but not all of them. We need more time talking with ourselves first, then with him before anything happens. Can we handle this ourselves." Sadly smiling down at the girls, Topanga nodded as she understood they were the only ones who could fix this. Taking one last look at the girls Topanga walked out of the room while murmuring a few final words. "Good luck girls"

The next couple of days proved to be quite troubling for the group of friends, whenever Lucas came near the girls they instantly froze, and Lucas quickly looked away. Lucas looked away because of his embarrassment at his final actions in Riley's bedroom and fear that they might want more answers because of them. The girls froze out of pure fear that if they asked him anything they would push him a little too much and they would officially loose him in every way.

In class things had gotten so severe that Lucas started sitting at the back of the class as far away from them as possible. The girls in turn remained deadly quiet throughout all classes and stopped adding their fun spin on classes that the other students had come to love.

Because of all of this many rumors began spreading throughout John Quincy Adams Middle School. A great deal of these rumors were simply stupid and had no real evidence backing them up, and where created out of pure boredom and lack of knowledge. A few rumors however made more sense and were quickly adopted by the majority of the school.

One of these rumors consisted of Lucas dumping both girls for his new found 'friend' Sarah. Another rumor spoke of Lucas having chosen one girl but having been caught cheating with the other. The final rumor spoke of Lucas being bored of the whole group and had gone off on his own. These three rumors spread like wildfire at the school and wherever the three teens attended they were being constantly watched by the masses.

A good majority of these watchful eyes belonged to very opportunistic individuals. These fellow students had mostly one thing in mind. That those three were now available. Lucas had always been considered to be Riley's and seen as how protective Lucas was of her, most girls had decided to back off. Riley had been considered to be Lucas' and as his past had spread throughout the school, most guys decided it would be best not to anger the teen by messing with his girl. Then there was Maya Hart. The beautiful blonde who never truly had a boyfriend. People stayed away from her for a few reasons. One of which was that they were simply too afraid to make a move on her. Maya was notorious for being short tempered and wasn't afraid of swinging at anyone who she didn't like. For those brave enough not to fear the blonde, they stopped dead in their tracks as rumors began circulating months back that Maya and Lucas seemed to like each other. Maya being Lucas' friend was scary enough, however if they secretly had feelings for each other the boys were afraid of what Lucas' reaction might be to them moving in for the blonde.

Their fears had been basically confirmed after the trios trip to Texas. With all three of them acting strange and Maya blurting out something had happened with Lucas, every single person interested in the blonde knew to stay away from her. But now that there seemed to be a rift between Lucas and the girls, all those interested in them saw an opportunity to take advantage of things before fixed themselves between them. With Lucas, only Sarah stood in their way and she was to timid to say anything to the girls basically throwing themselves to Lucas.

With the girls things were still difficult for the now frustrated guys. Maya was still as violent as ever, perhaps maybe more than usual. As a result she sent every guy running away in fear. Riley was too nice to say or do anything to push the guys away as to not hurt them. However she was always around Maya who sent those guys running as well. For the few that stayed behind, Farkle and Zay's friendships with the girls got in their way. The boys were not particularly scary, however their friendship with Lucas worried them.

Everyone had heard about Lucas' attacking Billy who he had considered a good friend for bullying Farkle. And everyone had heard about Zay running his mouth to the biggest bully at school and being saved by Lucas who scared the guy off. Even if Lucas' relationship with the girls was at a difficult point, his friendship with the guys seemed to be at least still active. As a result every guy backed away in fear of hurting Zay and Farkle resulting in backlash from Lucas.

As a result of all of this Riley and Maya were left unbothered after sometime. Lucas however remained being hounded by girls as they had nothing in their way. This left Maya and Riley with the constant image of Lucas being surrounded by attractive girls, which only served to break their hearts even more.

Currently avoiding entering their final class, the girls watched what was blocking their path. By the classroom doorway stood Lucas standing next to a very annoyed looking Sarah, as 3 girls tried flirting with the Texan and passed him their number.

"You okay Riles?" Squeezing her blonde friends hand, Riley Matthews took a deep breath as the girls dispersed to their own classroom leaving them a clear pathway. "Yea, I'm fine. How about you peaches?"

"I'm okay. Let's just get this over with and go home"


	19. Chapter 19

A few dozen bystanders jumped out of the way as a speeding teen tore through the crowded streets of New York City. As many eyes darted towards the speeding teen he never slowed his pace and made sure not to get sidetracked.

This teen currently speeding through the streets of New York was none other than Lucas Fryar from Austin Texas. After a few weeks of awkward interactions between him and his 2 closest friends, Lucas had settled into a decent schedule of avoiding them to preserve his friends deep connection.

Things had been going as smoothly as they could in this situation, for that Lucas was relieved. All was going well until this current day. Currently having spent his Saturday with his new group of friends trying to adjust to them as his closest friends now, Lucas was pulled out of their time together by a sudden message.

Riley: Lucas please come over it's an emergency. We need you.

As soon as he read through that message nothing else mattered to the Texas Native. He quickly left his friends and made his way over to Riley's apartment. Even though he had lately made it seem like he was not looking out for his friends like he used to, the simple thought of any of his friends being in trouble specifically the girls, Lucas wouldn't think twice before dropping all his current activities to make sure they were okay.

Finally having reached his destination, Lucas bolted up the fire escape onto Riley's floor. Once near her window, Lucas saw the window was completely open. Only thinking about his friends, Lucas jumped into the window and frantically looked around for Riley and company. When his eyes finally landed on the people in the room, Lucas' heart stopped as he jumped backwards out of fear.

"Hello Mr. Fryar. Nice of you to make it so quickly." Freezing in place, Lucas' eyes were wide open as he looked at the owner of the voice, Corey Matthews. "Why so jumpy Fryar? Any reason you should be afraid?" Looking over at the person next to Mr. Matthews, Lucas grew more nervous as the eyes of Shawn Hunter glared deeply at him. "Whe...whe.. Where's Riley?"

Walking towards the teen both men kept their eyes on him as Corey Matthews began to speak. "The girls are out at a movie. They needed some 'girl time'." Growing more nervous by the second Lucas kept darting his eyes between his current companions. "Then what about the message?"

Shaking his head, Shawn hunter stood on one side of they Texan. "You're supposed to be smarter than this kid. Riley didn't text you kid, she forgot her phone so we took advantage of the situation."

"Um.. Why would you want me here?" As Corey stood on the other side of the boy, he placed a hand on his shoulder and applied some pressure. "Well Mr. Fryar, you've recently gotten into some interesting situations with our girls. And as those girls Fathers, we felt it was necessary for us to hear your side of the story. That way we can decide whether you have to transfer back to Texas."

"You can't actually can't do that. Can you?" Looking nervously at his teacher, Lucas broke a sweat as he studied Mr. Matthews' reaction. "Well I am friends with the Superintendent, who also coincidentally seems to think of Riley as his niece. So tell me Mr. Friar, do I have that power?"

Looking down Lucas let out a deep sigh. "What do you want to know?" Looking at each other with satisfied smirks on their faces, the best friends took a seat next to the teen. "Lucas, do you care about the girls?" Quickly looking up at Corey Matthews, Lucas' face showed offense at being asked that kind of question. "How could you even ask me that Mr. Matthews! Of course I care about them. Those girls mean the world to me."

"Then what is going on with you Lucas?" Burying his face in his hands, Lucas groaned loudly. "I don't know, this is all so confusing." Looking at each other, both men present nodded to each other understanding Lucas was having a hard time with this as well. Looking at the frustrated teen, Corey asked. "What are your feelings towards my daughter Mr. Fryar?"

Sighing softly, Lucas kept his head in his hands as her answered Mr. Matthews. "I like her, I really do. Since day one Riley has always seen the best in me, She believes in me and my potential. She's the sweetest girl I've ever met and she really is a princess."

A small smile appeared on Corey Matthew's face as he listened to his student speak his mind. He didn't like the fact that his daughter was growing up and going through something like this. However knowing that the guy involved deeply cared for his daughter brought him some peace knowing the last thing Lucas wants is to hurt his daughter. Noticing Corey's expression, Shawn understood what his friend was feeling and took his turn with the teen. "Do you like Maya?"

Groaning out loud once more Lucas shook his head. " I... I don't know." Hardening his gaze, Shawn watched the boy. "How could you not know kid?"

"It's not exactly an easy thing to confirm Mr. Hunter." Noticing Shawn's less than pleased mood, Corey placed a hand on Lucas' shoulder. "Why not Lucas?"

"I've had almost 2 years to figure out how I feel about Riley. Since day one I knew she saw me as something more than a friend. From then to our first date, to what happened to Texas to Today we have both shared a lot of experiences together. All this time has helped me figure out if what I feel for Riley is more than a friendship, and because I've had so long to think about Riley in that way I've had enough time to be fully sure of my feelings for her.

But with Maya things are different. I won't lie ever since I saw her I've been attracted to her, I mean who wouldn't she's beautiful. However as I got to know her what I felt for her developed into a friendship and nothing more. This is largely due in part to how Maya treated me before. She always made fun of me and everything I did. I never took it personal and that's how our friendship developed. Because of how she acted around me, I never in my life saw myself as the type of guy Maya would be interested in. I never believed I had a shot with Maya. That combined with Riley's feelings towards me, turned me away from even thinking about there being something more with Maya.

This last year Maya seemed to open up around me more and more. Our friendship grew and I was able to understand what she was going through and developed so much respect and admiration towards her. Then we were voted best couple and I was shocked that people could see Maya being with someone like me, but with everything going on that kind of took a backseat to things. Then Texas happened. Finding out Maya had feelings for me, and then when I.. When that happened I became so confused. Being suddenly told that a girl who you thought could never be interested in you, likes you is a lot to take in. Since then I've started seeing Maya differently. I won't lie, there's definitely something there, if there wasn't this wouldn't be so confusing. However I don't know what it is exactly. Over the course of two years I've become sure of what I feel for Riley, with Maya it's only been a few weeks since I've started thinking of her in that way."

As both men, looked at the teen and then each other, the finally understood what the boy was going through. He was just a confused kid. He obviously cared for the girls very much. The only reason he could confidently say he liked Riley was because he had two years to think about it. He obviously cared for Maya as well, however having only had a few weeks to figure out his feelings for her was hard for the teen. The fact that both girls who liked the boy were best friends only added more fuel to the already burning fire.

Relaxing at the teen's explanation, Shawn Hunter sighed. "What are you going to do kid?" Finally lifting his head from his hands Lucas sighed deeply. "The only thing that I can do. Give up on both of them."

"What will that accomplish Lucas?" Looking at his student, Corey tried to understand how this was his only option.

"I need both girls in my life. Riley makes me feel like I can be more than who I was back home. She believes in someone like me and wants nothing but the best for me. Maya on the other hand... Maya keeps me grounded and her example gives me the strength to believe I can be a better person despite my past. Both girls are responsible for my change and are responsible for the kind of person i'm becoming. I'm sure you've noticed how now that their feelings are out in the open, their friendship with me isn't the same. But more important their friendship with each other isn't the same either."

Nodding to his student, Corey agreed. "Yes. No matter what they might say the beautiful friendship they've always had has seemed shaky as of late."

Looking straight forward, Lucas Fryar nodded softly. "If the fact that not knowing who I like over the other is causing such a strain in their friendship, what will happen once I make my choice. What will happen to their special connection once I come out and say which girl is the one I want and which girl I don't. One of them will be heartbroken and will be forced to witness firsthand the guy she has feelings for openly declare and act upon his feelings toward her best friend. They will have to deal with jealousy, heartbreak and the feeling that they weren't good enough and that their best friend is superior to them. This could easily lead to me loosing that girl as a friend.

This strain between them could very well cause their friendship to crumble. And as a result whoever I choose may end up resenting me. Those girls had always sworn that nothing could come between them. Yet something would, and that would be me. I would have come between them and would have been the reason their friendship ends. As a result the girl I chose would blame me and not want anything to do with me.

This is why I'm making this choice. Why risk breaking up their friendship and loose both girls as friends just for a relationship that may not work out in anyone's favor. I'd rather loose my chance with either girl and preserve their friendship, and hopefully someday fix ours."

"That's a very mature way of thinking kid. I respect it." Looking upon the teen, Shawn felt for him. He was going through a lot and was still able to find the best solution in his mind with the least casualties.

Corey Matthews watched one of his favorite students with mixed emotions. He was angry that his daughter would have to deal with heartbreak. However as a teacher he was proud of Lucas for coming up with that kind of solution. "That really is a mature solution, but it's still has it's flaws and consequences. Not to mention that based on the way those girls look at you, they won't go down with out a fight."

As Lucas glanced around Riley's room, his eyes feel upon a framed picture of both girls, arms wrapped around each other wearing the biggest of smiles. "I know Mr. Matthews... That's what i'm afraid of."


	20. Chapter 20

Lucas Fryar lay awake in bed as he thought about what to do. He had made a choice on how to deal with things, but he knew the girls weren't happy about it and weren't going to accept it. This problem had kept up the Texan for many nights as his mind was too focused on the task at hand to worry about sleeping.

After some time thinking sleep was beginning to take over the tired teen. Just as he was about to close his eyes Lucas felt his phone vibrate under his pillow. Reaching for his phone Lucas opened the message he had received being surprised by who it was from. Recovering Lucas began to message his blonde friend.

Maya: Huckleberry we need to talk.

Lucas: What's up Maya?

Maya: Why are you being so fishy with things? Hurry up and tell Riley you want to be with her you stupid cowboy.

Widening his eyes at her message, Lucas was surprised that Maya seemed to have once again given up and was pushing him towards Riley.

Lucas: It's not fair to assume how I feel towards anyone without asking Maya.

Maya: Who are we kidding Lucas. It's always been you and Riley since day one. What I feel for you is nothing. It's only because you are a good friend that I felt I liked you. I was just confused now I know what I feel.

Staring at his screen for a few minutes, Lucas felt something was off. Something was telling him that Maya wasn't being honest with him. Even without hearing her voice Lucas could notice something was off. Unbeknownst to Lucas, Maya Hart was currently in her bed with tears running down her face as she desperately tried to get him to believe she didn't like him to get him and Riley together. This action caused great pain within the blonde's heart, however she felt their happiness was worth her loss. However Lucas didn't seem too pleased with her plan.

Lucas: If you really feel nothing for me, then the next time I see you, you will feel nothing if I grab your face and look into your eyes again?

Biting her lip, Maya Hart shed more tears as she knew what would happen if he did that.

Maya: Lucas... Stop. I see the way you look at Riley...

Lucas: Ok fine. Yea, I like Riley.

Many more tears ran down the blonde's face as her biggest fear seemed to come true. Lucas had confessed his feelings towards Riley. It was to be expected Riley was perfect for him, there was no way he would ever choose someone like her.

Maya: Then hurry up and tell her you choose her Cowboy.

Lucas: NO

Maya: Why the hell not Huckleberry?

Lucas: Because I can't deny there is something between you and I Maya.

Maya's heart fluttered as she read his words.

Maya: You just said you like her, that trumps whatever it is you think is between us.

Lucas: I'm only sure about what I feel for her because I''ve had almost 2 years to figure it out Maya. I've only had a few weeks with you. Besides like I said last time, I'm not choosing either of you.

Maya: Why? Let me guess you would rather have Sarah.

Lucas: Sarah's great.

As Maya quietly sobbed at his response, she buried her face into her pillow. As she felt her phone vibrate with another message, it took her over 10 minutes before she was able to see it.

Lucas: But what I feel for her doesn't come close to what I feel for you and Riley.

Maya: You deserve to be happy Lucas. So be happy with Riley...

Lucas: I'd rather you be happy Maya. You deserve it.

Maya: Why are you making this so difficult!

Lucas: Because I care about you Maya. And no matter what I refuse to let you belittle yourself in any way. I care too much about you to just sit by and let that happen.

As her heart rate increased dramatically, Maya re-read his message over and over as a warm feeling enveloped the blonde. Shaking the feeling away, the blonde responded.

Maya: If you care so much about me, then please pick Riley... Please.. I'm begging you..

Lucas: NO

Maya: YOU STUPID COWBOY!

Lucas: Maya...

Maya: If you won't choose either one of us why are you making it so hard for us to move on. It'll be easier telling us you don't want us. Why tell us you won't choose either of us but still sit there and say you care about us... about me...

Lucas: Because I do care about you.

Maya: You're only making this harder on everyone you stupid cowboy.

Lucas: I never said this plan was perfect Maya.

Maya: What do you feel towards me...

Finally getting the strength to ask the question that had been on her mind forever, Maya typed her message and waited his reply.

Lucas: I... I'm not sure...

Maya: How the hell can't you know. What are you stupid?

Lucas: Before Texas I never knew I had a chance with you... You were simply a beautiful blonde who liked to tease me constantly.

At his 'beautiful' remark, Maya sat up on her bed as her cheeks flushed a bright red.

Lucas: But knowing I did have a chance with you changed things... I started looking at you with the same eyes I saw Riley when we first met...

Maya: You liked Riley first...

Lucas: That doesn't mean what I feel for you can't be stronger than that Maya.

After a few minutes of silence, Lucas decided to send another message.

Lucas: I don't wan't to loose you Maya... either of you.

Maya: If you keep insisting you won't make a decision then you'll loose me...

Lucas: Maya...

Maya: Make a choice or i'm never speaking to you again.

Lucas: Maya.. Please... Don't do this. I can't loose you...

Maya: Wether you loose me or not is on you now. Bye...

Lucas: Maya...

No matter how many messages he sent, Maya refused to respond to Lucas. This went on for many days, as Lucas' mood worsened at the thought of having lost Maya. A few days later while once more laying in bed wide awake Lucas felt his phone vibrated and instantly reached for it hoping for his blonde's friends response. Instead however Lucas saw a message from his pretty brunette.

Riley: Lucas...

Lucas: Hey.

Riley: Lucas, Maya has been hurting badly these past few days. She needs you, tell her how you feel already.

Lucas: Riley... Why bother asking you already know my answer.

Riley: Lucas please... She's been even more sad as of late. She cares for you and you care for her. There's nothing stopping you from being together.

Lucas: You are.

Riley: Lucas... How am I stopping you, I wan't you two together.

Lucas: What I feel for you is stopping me from making a choice.

Riley: Lucas...

Once more, the girl speaking to Lucas was laying in bed with tears running down her face.

Lucas: I care too much about Maya and you to make a choice.

Riley: Lucas. Maya hid what she felt for 2 years... I can handle seeing you two together.

Lucas: If I were to choose her, my heart would ache every time I were to gaze into your sad eyes Riley. I can't do that to you. Either of you.

Riley: But I wouldn't be sad.

Lucas: We both know that's a lie. Once I pick one of you the other will be heartbroken and even though they may try to act supportive deep down they'll be in pain. I can't do that to either if you.

Riley: What do you feel towards Maya, Lucas?

Lucas: Riley... I don't want to hurt you.

Riley: Lucas, please...

Lucas: I care a lot about her and consider her an important part of my life like all my friends. But unlike my other friends, what happened in Texas makes it hard to deny there might be something more.

Riley: It sounds to me like you do know how you feel...

Lucas: Even if I like her Riley, we both know how I feel towards you.

Riley: Lucas we tried to work things out... We failed as a couple...

Lucas: Because we weren't ready Riley, we still aren't. We are all barely getting a handle on our feelings, why push things to fast?

Riley: You need to do something about Maya. Please Lucas...

Lucas: You two are so alike.

Riley: what do you mean?

Lucas: A few nights ago Maya messaged me begging me to choose you.

Riley: WHAT?

Lucas: Yea, and when I told her I wasn't choosing anyone she gave me an ultimatum.

Riley: ?

Lucas: As long as I don't make a choice between you two, Maya will refuse to talk to me ever again.

Riley: Lucas... I'll talk to her.. But promise me you'll figure out another way to handle this.

Lucas: I'll... Think about it Riley. Goodnight.

As she ended her conversation with Lucas, Riley Matthews stared at her ceiling with tears flooding her eyes. She wanted to be with Lucas, but she still believed he would be happier with Maya. Now apparently Maya had the same idea as both of them tried to convince Lucas to choose the other. Maya had once again threatened Lucas with not speaking to him. That girl was just as stubborn as Riley, so Riley knew trying to get her to speak to Lucas was going to be tough. Her only option was that the fact that Lucas would think about changing his current mind, would help Maya forget her threat. Wiping her eyes, Riley Matthews sighed softly as she glanced at the bay window. That bay window had always helped the girls solve their deepest problems, however as of late it seemed to be falling short. Something had to be done and Riley went to sleep that night praying that she would receive a sign of what to do.

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For those who believe to know which girl i'm going to have Lucas end up with, you may not be correct. I'm writing these characters based on how I feel they are portrayed on the show. Lucas and Riley (Rucas) have as sweet relationship. This is partly due to how sweet of a person Riley is. They also both care a lot about each other and are fine expressing it. Even if they are fine with it, they are still kids with no experiences in love so they have awkward moments. Lucas and Maya (Lucaya) have a very different relationship. They care about each other but are not as comfortable declaring it as Lucas and Riley are. Maya builds up walls around herself. As a result the few people who are about to break past those walls develop a deep strong relationship with Maya. Take a look at the people close to her, there is really no one who she's close to that she doesn't deeply care for. Because of the way Maya is, her relationship with Lucas or anyone for that matter can't be a simple one. This is why the Lucaya moments are more intense/passionate than Rucas moments at least for the most part. Lucaya moments have been more prominent lately because of the way the story was going. Once Lucas starts being friendly with them all again, more Rucas moments will appear. The story is not going to be finished soon so wait until more chapters come out before coming to a conclusion on who you feel Lucas should end up with in this story.


	21. Chapter 21

This is a response to my latest review/comment that was left as guest. If your another person and don't particularly care about this then by all means go ahead to the chapter. So to the person I can only address as guest. I have a good reason for "drawing out" this story. For those who stick around till the end, they will be able to comprehend why I took this story in this direction. I may even post a little 'author's note' at the end explaining things better.

In regards to the couple that will be endgame. I will no longer be looking at the show for any sort of reference. I had originally planned to use it as so, but seeing as the latest episodes gave nothing in terms of development I've scratched that idea. It will be quite some time till season 3, so using the show's plot doesn't fit this story anymore. I had originally no real clue who I was going to pair up Lucas with. Personally I don't ship any particular couple, as long as the writers do a good job of explaining the solution in an understandable non cop out way. Now that I've put this much work into this story I know who the 'endgame' for this story will be. If you would like to know stick through to the end.

However seeing as you don't seem to be enjoying the direction of my story anymore, I must inform you that I will continue in this route. There are still some people who seem interested in what the outcome will be and are at least a little invested in the overall story. So if this story isn't your cup of tea anymore, then by all means branch out and find one that suits your needs as a reader and fan. On this site alone I believe there are at least 2k stories on this show, and there are more sites where fanfic is posted so you have no shortage of reading material. So if you feel like this story doesn't appeal to you, then I understand and I hope you find one that does. Have a good day.

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"Sooo... Why am I here again?" Looking around the crowded room, a very nervous looking teen questioned those present. As one of the people currently present stepped forward, the teen's nervousness only grew as their voice rang out in his ears. "Well Mr. Farkle Minkus, we called you here in order to answer a few questions for us."

"Wh.. What kind of questions Mr. Matthews?" Looking around at those present, Farkle felt the eyes of every person on him. Currently sitting by watching the nervous teen, were the worried parents of his friends. The Mathews', Ms. Hart, Shawn Hunter, and the Minkus' were all present.

"Son, Corey contacted us and let us know the situation. We know you love your friends, so please let us help you help them." As Stuart Minkus stepped forward concern was evident in his face. He had personally never gotten as close to his son's friends as the other parents had, but at the end of the day if Farkle cared about them then so did he. If his son wanted to help his friends, then as his father he would provide all the support he possibly could.

"Your fathers right Farkle, we decided it would be best for all the parents to be filled in to what's happening." Katy Hart an equally beautiful blonde than her daughter sat close by Shawn Hunter watching everything unfold. Looking around the room, Farkle began feeling confused at those present. "Um.. I understand why you all are here. Even my parents I can understand. But where are Lucas' parents in that case?"

Every single person in the room began uncomfortably looking around at each other, as if trying to figure out who should speak. Finally one voice rang out. The voice of Topanga Matthews. "Well Farkle, the thing is none of us have ever met Lucas' parents. We tried to contact them, but the only number on file was his father's who told us this was Lucas' problem to handle not his." A shocked expression fell upon the face of Farkle Minkus. He had never expected that kind of response coming from Lucas's dad. Then again as he thought about it, he remembered how Lucas' grandfather acted so he shouldn't be so surprised at this outcome.

"Farkle, speaking of that. Have any of you ever met Lucas' parents?" As Farkle began thinking about the question he found himself rather surprised at the answer. "No actually. The only person who has had any interaction with Lucas' parents apart from Zay is Maya." At the mention of her daughter's name, Katy Hart quickly stood up and faced the boy. "My baby girl met Lucas' parents?"

Nodding to the blonde Farkle Minkus explained. "Yea well, technically she's only met his mom. Last year we had an assignment where we had cupcake selling businesses. Lucas and Maya were on a team together. Maya never really shared the details but it was mentioned that she met Lucas' mom when they had to spend the day together. I don't know much more about that."

At Farkle's explanation, Katy backed off and returned seating next to Shawn as she thought about this new information. "Why haven't you guys met his parents son?" Looking towards his son, Minkus raised an eyebrow at his statement.

"Lucas never really talks about his parents or much about himself really. The person who seems to know the most about him besides Zay is Riley. She loves hearing his stories of his past so she knows a lot about him. Personally I don't know why Lucas doesn't mention his family. Other than Zay, Riley is the only person I can think of that would know anything about it." As the parents nodded at his words, another silence fell upon the room.

Finally breaking the silence was Corey Matthews as he took the reigns of the conversation once more. "Okay Farkle, what exactly do you know about this whole ordeal?" Looking towards his teacher Farkle Minkus took a deep breath. "Well what would you like to know exactly?"

"Do you think Lucas already knows which girl he likes more than a friend?" Sudden fear overcame the young genius as he thought about what to answer. As Corey Matthews studied his student's face, realization that the boy might be keeping something came over him. "Farkle... Do you know something?"

"Son..." Looking at his trouble son, Stuart Minkus stepped forward in an attempt to help. Noticing everyone's stares, the young genius found himself unable to overcome their questioning. "I'm... I"m not sure. Zay and I talked to Lucas a few times about it. He didn't directly give us an answer but..."

"But what Farkle?" Looking up at his teacher, Farkle let out a deep sigh as he set his gaze onto the ground. "The way he was explaining things made it seem like he had some sort of idea of which girl he cared for the most. However before we could deduce which girl, Lucas ended our conversation and has kept a lid on his words regarding them since then."

"Anything else son?" Shaking his head, Farkle glanced towards his father. "Lucas has kept most of what he's feeling so we're all lost."

"Okay Farkle, you may leave. And if you may keep this conversation between us." Walking up towards the classroom door, Corey Matthews opened the door leading to the halls of John Quincy Adams Middle School. Walking outside the classroom, Farkle Minkus sighed at all the commotion that had resulted from his friend's dilemma. He wishes he could help, but until Lucas allowed them to, nothing could be done.

Another student was currently navigating the halls of John Quincy Adams. A pretty brunette, walked the halls as she waited for a text message from her father. Having been told he was in a very important meeting, Riley found herself walking all over school as she waited for him to be finished. They had agreed to go home together so Riley had no choice but to wait.

After spending some time wandering around, Riley found herself spacing out while unconsciously keeping up her wandering. As she day dreamed a sudden force knocked her out of her dream and almost out of her feet. Waking up in the real world, Riley Matthews found herself being held by the waist by a tall, good looking teen. "Lu.. Lucas!" Stammering with her words, Riley found herself becoming quite embarrassed at her current situation.

Giving his friend a small smile Lucas found himself admiring her cute reaction. "Hey Riley. You okay there? Gotta watch where you're walking." As her level of embarrassment was elevated because of his mild teasing, Riley felt her cheeks beginning to burn up. "Ye.. Yea i'm fine... Thanks Lucas." As Lucas was too focused on her 'cute' expression, his hand never left his face. Sporting a smile as he watched her blush, Lucas found himself remembering why this girl meant so much to him. These little 'cute' interactions they used to have is what defined the relationship they had.

"Um.. Lucas.. You can let go now." Feeling very awkward being held by Lucas, Riley voiced her concern. While in reality the feeling of euphoria that she was feeling being held by him, by far overwhelmed the awkwardness Riley felt she should do her best to act composed. Being held by him was going to make that small task impossible so the best plan for action was to get out of his grip. "Yea sorry." Realizing his position, Lucas pulled his arm back and let go of his brunette friend. "So what are you doing here Riley?"

Straightening herself out Riley cleared her throat as she regained her composure. "I'm waiting for my dad to finish with a meeting." Looking at his friend, Lucas let out a small smile as he saw his presence was making her nervous. As he kept looking at her, his gaze had two different effects. For Lucas it served to remind him how much he enjoyed his little 'moments' with Riley. For Riley it made her heart flutter as her feelings towards Lucas were amped up under his gaze. Riley had always loved Lucas' eyes, and no matter the situation having those eyes set on her always made her feel something special.

Even though she loved his gaze on her, Riley began feeling uncomfortable due to the recent events surrounding them. "Um... Lucas?" Meanwhile Lucas kept smiling at the brunette while not having heard her words. "I've missed you Riley."

Hearing Lucas' words did not help in calming down the nervous wreck of the brunette standing in front of him. "Lu... Lucas?" Taking the brunette in his arms, Lucas held her close as she stiffened up at his contact. "I had forgotten how much I enjoy your company since all of this crazy stuff began."

Pulling back from the hug Lucas began feeling awkward at his actions. "Um.. Sorry I got a bit carried away." Rubbing the back of his neck, Lucas avoided looking at the brunette leaving the two of them finally equally uncomfortable. "It... It's okay.."

"You know... maybe we could.. um.. hang out sometime." Widening her eyes at his statement, Riley felt herself smile widely on the inside, and she was sure that she was almost as equally smiley in real life. There was hope of getting Lucas back into their daily life's and Riley was loving it. "Of course!"

Chuckling at her little outburst, Lucas Fryar gave the brunette one last hug before stepping back. "I gotta go, see you later Riley." Smiling at her friend and crush, Riley Matthews felt much better than she had in previous weeks, she had her friend back. "Bye Lucas."

* * *

Wrote this on a late night so it isn't something I'm completely okay with posting. Since it's Wednesday and it still shows the basic feeling I wanted to get across I figured what the hell. Hope it's still at least slightly enjoyable.


	22. Chapter 22

A week had past since Riley had last spoken to Lucas at school. They still weren't near the level of friendship they once were but there was some progress. Lucas still mostly spend his time with Sarah and her friends, however he no longer seemed to be avoiding Riley and her friends. Riley found herself holding back squeals of joy the day after she had her talk with Lucas. As she entered her father's classroom Lucas turned and set his gaze upon her. Expecting nothing much from the boy Riley simply let out a small smile.

To her surprise, Lucas not only returned the smile but greeted her. "Hi." Based on his response Riley's smile greatly grew and she found herself replying in her usual awkward but sweet voice. "Hi." As Lucas left his eyes on her, Riley felt great. Maybe things were actually going to get better and go back to how things were before.

As her best friend walked into the room, Riley forced herself to look away from Lucas' smile in order to greet her. "Hi peaches." As the blonde looked up from her phone a small smile spread on her face. "Hey Riles."

As the blonde walked to her seat, Riley noticed Lucas' gaze was no longer set on her but on the blonde. Riley silently watched the scene hoping for some progress. "Hey short stack." The pure sound of that name brought rage upon the blonde as she prepared to attack whoever had been dumb enough to say it. As she turned to face her victim, Maya was met face to face with the stupid cowboy. Immediately freezing upon seeing him, Maya felt herself becoming nervous around the Texan.

Riley kept her eyes on the pair to see if anything happened. Maya began opening her mouth in what Riley assumed was going to be her reply. Riley, however was let down as she saw Maya close her mouth and turn away from Lucas with a scoff. Lucas was left with a defeated look on his face due to the blonde's actions. Turning back towards his new group of friends with a sigh, Lucas went back to their previous conversation.

Riley was left feeling half great and half horrible. It was great that Lucas seemed to want and repair his relationship with them. It was horrible that Maya refused to give him a chance without him fulfilling her ultimatum. Riley had tried her best to convince Maya to let her ultimatum go, but the blonde was adamant on sticking through with her plan of making sure Lucas didn't take the 'easy way out'.

Refusing to give up, Riley spend the next few days trying to convince Maya, all the while slowly regaining what she once had with Lucas. Throughout this whole thing, Riley couldn't help but notice that Sarah didn't seem to happy with Lucas talking to Riley, and trying to talk to Maya. Every time Lucas even glanced their way and smiled, Riley could see an annoyed look on Sarah's face.

Riley tried to feel for the girl she truly did. She knew what she must be going through and she knew how much it hurt. However Riley couldn't help but crack a smile at the though of Sarah thinking Riley was a threat in any sort of way. This served to give Riley hope that their Lucas would come back to them again.

After a few more days, Riley found herself walking the halls of John Quincy Adams with her best friend Maya Hart. As the school day had finished, both girls were preparing to leave school grounds. As they walked, Riley noticed their friends Farkle and Zay at distance talking to someone.

Grabbing her best friends hand, Riley dragged Maya towards their friends. As they neared their friends, Riley felt Maya's hand tense up and began lightly shaking. Looking at the blonde, Riley saw she was clearly nervous and uncomfortable. Looking around Riley saw the cause of all of this. The person talking to Farkle and Zay was none other than Lucas. Riley knew all along Maya was simply trying her best to seem strong but in reality ignoring Lucas was slowly beginning to wear down the blonde. Feeling that if she spend more time around him Maya would break and give in Riley turned to her friend and mouthed a soft 'Sorry' before dragging her completely next to the boys and planting Maya right next to Lucas.

Noticing the girls' presence, the guys smiled at them and gave their own greetings. When it came to Lucas he simply smiled at Riley causing their usual awkward yet cute interactions. "Hi." "Hey."

As he turned to face the blonde next to him, Lucas developed a slight smirk on his face. Riley knew what it meant and was slightly scared but knew it had been working as of late. "Hey Clutterbucket."

Lucas had recently taken up the habit of teasing Maya to get under her skin. Maya always brushed him off when he tried to play nice, so Lucas figured in order to get a reaction out of her, he would need to get her angry. What better way to get her angry than using the nicknames she despised and caused her to lash out at anyone using them. She had so far managed to avoid saying one word to the Texan, however everyone noticed that every time Lucas decided to tease her Maya would get one step closer to breaking.

However only Maya knew the biggest reason this was all so hard for her. Every time the stupid Texan decided to tease her, he would always wear a stupid grin on his face. She did her best to fight him, but seeing Lucas' smile made the blonde's heart flutter and cause her to loose the strength needed to remain calm.

Biting the inside of her cheek, the blonde fought through it all and remained silent. Seeing he had once more failed, Lucas turned his attention back to the brunette. "The guys and I are going to hang out today over at Farkle's."

Hearing that Lucas and the guys were once more hanging out outside of school made the brunette incredibly happy. "That's great guys! Have fun." As all the guys chuckled at her adorable happiness, Lucas nodded. "Maybe this weekend we can all hangout or something. Go see a movie? Hang out at Topanaga's?"

Hearing Lucas wanting to spend time with them all made the brunette's heart feel warm. They were getting their friend back and it was great. "Of course Lucas. Count on it." As the boys made their way out of the school towards their destination, the girls were left alone with an obvious tension present.

"I'm not going!" Glaring at her best friend, Maya Hart knew Riley would try and convince her to attend their gathering and she was having none of it. "But Peaches."

"No means No Riley." Taking both of her friends hands, Riley Matthews softly looked at her friend. "Peaches, you wouldn't just leave me alone would you?" Groaning out loud the blonde replied. "You won't be alone, those idiots will be there."

"Maya they're not idiots. And besides, I need someone to talk to when they get into their boy talk. I need someone to have girl talk. Pleaseeeee Peachess. I love you." Giving her best friend, her best puppy eyes, Riley found herself pouting like a child in order to get her way. Seeing Riley this way was too much for the blonde as she quickly gave in. "F... Fine.. I'll go."

Squealing with joy, the brunette tightly hugged the blonde. "Yayyyy!" Holding her best friend, Riley knew this was another small step for them right now, but a large step in the long run. Convincing Maya to go along only made things easier.


	23. Chapter 23

Confession time, I spend the whole day watching youtube videos and lost track of time and even forget I was to update. If it wasn't for someone leaving a review/comment reminding me I would not have updating while stile being in the schedule. Also after re-reading the last few chapters I've noticed they've been a bit rushed and just lacking in general. I will do my best to improve the next chapters so they don't seem as lazy as the last few. Anyway hope you enjoy the chapter and have a nice day.

* * *

Laughter filled a huge room decorated with many kid's dreams. Farkle Minkus' room had everything any kid could want, it was the dream room of many. Currently laughing with joy was Farkle Minkus himself being accompanied by his best friends. There was Izaah Babineaux, his newest friend. Zay had a big mouth, but Farkle could tell he was actually a pretty nice guy. He had definitely calmed down since moving to New York and seemed much less annoying to his fellow classmates. Then there was Lucas Fryar, the other Texas Native. He had been Farkle's first male best friend. Most other people didn't understand the genius. As a result Farkle had very limited true friends. When Lucas moved to New York, Farkle thought he was another jock who would think nothing of him. However as he got to know him, he realized Lucas was different. He was popular while being nice to everyone he was around. Since Riley had obviously developed a crush on the Texan since day one he was brought into the group for her. As time went by, Farkle found himself getting closer to the teen, and he quickly became Farkle's best friend. Someone he could always count on.

Due to recent incidents, Lucas had put some space between himself and his friends. It had been a hard number of weeks as Lucas had basically ignored them and avoided them. They all knew why he was doing all this, at least to a certain point. Because of this they could at least somewhat understand him.

Things changed when one day Riley called them all over to Toanaga's for an important 'meeting'. They all showed up wondering what everything could be about and were met with a radiating Riley. She then went on to explain that Lucas seemed to want to reconnect with them again. This news made everyone relax and feel calm once more.

True to Riley's word, Lucas had slowly begun to reconnect with them. From acknowledging them at school, to greeting them to having short conversations in between class. They were gaining Lucas back into their life's.

Currently they were having a 'guys night' at Farkle's place. Lucas had decided to hang out with them like before so they decided to just go play video games like usual, like nothing had changed between them. Things were going smoothly as they were having an incredible amount of fun, and they truly seemed like three best friends again.

"We've missed you man." Looking over at his life long best friend, Zay Babineaux relaxed in his seat. Turning around to face his friend Lucas let out a soft chuckle at his remark. "I've missed you guys too." Laying back down onto Farkle's bed Lucas let out a deep breath. "It's been weird not hanging out with you guys."

Turning away from the video game, Zay looked at his best friend. "So how are things with Sarah and her friends?" Closing his eyes as he pondered the question, Lucas further relaxed onto the bed. "Fine I guess." His tone caught the attention of the genius as he turned to face the teen as well. "You guess?" Staring at the ceiling, Lucas let out a deep breath as thought about his friendships with Sarah, Darby and Yogi. "They're great and all, but..."

Getting more intrigued by the second Zay found himself leaning towards Lucas as he heard his response. "But what Lucas?" Zay couldn't help himself and asked the question that they all wanted to hear the answer to. "I always felt welcomed around them, but I also felt that I didn't belong."

"Well you always have a place with us Lucas you know that." Turning toward the young genius Lucas felt relaxed at his words. "Thanks Farkle, it means a lot."

Having his curiousness get the better of him Zay chucked a pillow at his oldest friend. "Hey Lucas?" Catching the pillow before it hit him, Lucas tossed it to Farkle who unlike him failed to catch it and was hit straight on. "What's up?"

"How come you've been braver lately when dealing with the Blonde Beauty?" Raising an eyebrow at his friend, Lucas couldn't recall him acting 'brave' at all. "What are you talking about Zay?" Shaking his head, Zay couldn't believe Lucas had no clue what he was talking about. And they called him clueless. "The teasing man. All those nicknames you call her that she hates. You got some sort of death wish or you just don't care anymore?"

Sitting up Lucas let out a soft chuckle at Zay's words. "Well she insists on ignoring me, and basically wants me to leave her alone. So lets just see who cracks first." Having recovered from the impact, Farkle shook himself off and watched his best friend. "Lucas, I've known Maya for a long time. Perhaps it is not wise to get on her bad side." Shrugging off his best friend's warning Lucas lout out a soft yawn. "Oh well."

The next few school days went by decently smoothly. Lucas was friendly and warm towards everyone again, and the atmosphere in the classroom lightened up. Lucas' 'teasing' of Maya continued without much improvement, however it did bring many laughs to their fellow classmates. Lucas was the only person who seemed to be able to tease Maya without fear. This was simply fascinating and hilarious to everyone present. Even Mr. Matthews couldn't help but crack a small laugh when noticing Maya's enraged expression whenever Lucas spoke to her. Mr. Matthews never had to step in though, Maya refused to crack so she never said or did anything to Lucas. Besides Corey could always count on his daughter to handle things. Riley would always try her best to make sure Maya didn't kill anyone because of her anger towards Lucas. Zay and Farkle always kept Lucas from going to far with the teasing, so at the end of the day nothing bad happened as a result of their new form of interaction.

Being currently Friday the students of his class instantly bolted as soon as the bell rang. They couldn't wait to get home and enjoy the weekend relaxing and having fun. As all the students were running out of the classroom, Corey set his own on one of his students. "Mr. Friar, can you please stay a few moments I wish to speak to you." As Lucas looked up towards his teacher, he noticed the serious yet calm look on his face. Nodding to Mr. Matthews Lucas sat in one of the front row desks near Mr. Matthews.

Once the remaining students fled the class in glee, Corey Matthews stood in front of his desk. "So Mr. Friar I see you've been reconnecting with your friends." Instantly understanding the gist of the situation, Lucas slightly relaxed and let out a small smile. "Yea.. Well I've been trying."

Smiling at his young student, Corey was happy their group was slowly becoming whole again. "I can see that Lucas, and i'm glad you all are connecting again. Well at least most of you." Chuckling nervously Lucas knew Mr. Matthews meant the blonde beauty who refused to give him the time of day. "Yea, well... It's a work in progress."

"Lucas, what brought about this change in direction. Just recently you were adamant on steering clear of the girls." Looking upon one of his newest students, Corey Matthews wondered what could have changed the young boys mind. He was glad he was reconnecting with his friends, but he was curious as to what had brought this sudden change.

Understanding his teachers curiosity, Lucas took a deep breath as he tried to think of the best way to explain things. "Actually Mr. Matthews, it was the talk you and Mr. Hunter had with me. I guess confessing to you two how much I care about the girls made me realize how much I truly missed being with them. Don't tell Farkle or Zay but Riley and Maya are my best friends. I was truly miserable not spending any time at all with them and telling someone else how much they meant to me was my wake up call. After that I spend some time debating whether or not the route I had chosen was the right one and after some deep thought I realized I needed to reconcile with them, with everyone. I know this makes me some dumb kid who can't make up his mind and should just grow up already." Looking down, Lucas sighed as he finally got a few minor things off his chest.

"Lucas. Of course you're just a dumb kid who can't make up his mind, you're in middle school. No middle school student can choose the correct path in a situation like this. I sure as hell would've messed up royally. And no you shouldn't grow up already. You're just a kid, live your youth good or bad and be in no hurry to grow up. Simply try and think of others as much as yourself like you have been doing and as your teacher I couldn't be prouder." Walking up to his student, Corey placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Now get out of here Mr. Friar, you have a big day ahead of you tomorrow."


	24. Chapter 24

"Riley I changed my mind, let's go back to your place and have a sleepover." Trying to currently pull her best friend away from the movie theater was a short blonde. It was a Saturday night and the two girls were due to meet their friends at the theater for a movie night. It would be the first time the whole group spend time together in quite some time. The designated 'Blonde Beauty' seemed to be the only person who was not looking forward to this night. Currently trying to back out of their plans, the blonde found herself trying any method she could think of. However her best friend, the designated 'Pretty Brunette' was not giving up on this night. "Sounds great peaches! We can definitely have a sleepover... After the movies."

"Riley please, why are you making me do this?" Pleading with her best friend, Maya Hart was lost at the reason she had to be present. Sighing softly, Riley Matthews looked into the eyes of her oldest and closest friend. "Maya, we have to at least try and give Lucas a chance to make things right between all of us again."

"Why should we? Huckleberry tossed us aside, now he comes back and we have to accept him with open arms?" Crossing her arms the blonde glared at her best friend waiting for her reply. Taking a deep breath, Riley looked down. "Maya... He made a mistake okay. He regrets it and wants to make things right." Getting angry at her response the blonde scoffed at her best friend and looked away. "He hurt you Riley! You like him and he tossed you aside like nothing. You were miserable those weeks that he was avoiding us. He hurt you and doesn't deserve your trust anymore."

"Peaches... This isn't about me. Yes he hurt me, but i'm willing to forgive him and fix things. Don't use me as the excuse you are ignoring him. The truth is he hurt you too peaches. You were just as miserable as me. We both like him and were hurt because of his decision." As the blonde avoided her best friend's gaze she balled up her fists. "I don't like him Riley. He's just a huckleberry, I was just confused."

"Maya..." Reaching forward towards her best friend, Riley Matthews looked at her friend with pleading eyes. As she reached forward Riley's hand was met with air as the blonde moved out of the way and walked past her. "Let's just get this over with." Believing it best to avoid the subject at hand, Maya resolved herself to get through this 'group night'.

Near the entrance to the movie theater stood 3 friends waiting for the arrival of 2 more of their group. As they were talking about a new video game being released soon, a familiar voice got their attention. "Maya!" Turning around, the teens saw Maya Hart walking towards them with an annoyed look on her face while Riley trailed behind her trying to get her attention. As the girls reached them, the guys quickly noticed the tension between them. Deciding it best to ignore it for now they proceeded to greet their friends like usual.

As the greetings came around to Lucas things got 'interesting'. Maya scoffed at the teen and looked away leaving him sighing in defeat once more. Turning towards the brunette, Lucas smiled his good friend. "Hey." Looking upon Lucas, Riley momentarily forgot her frustrations with Maya and found herself shyly smiling at the Texan. "Hi". As the two teens stood smiling at each other, most of their friends rolled their eyes at their little interactions because of it's familiarity. One friend however was not amused by this. As Lucas had his eyes on Riley, he felt a strong bump against his shoulder. Turning in its direction, Lucas found Maya had bumped into him while walking past him. "Hurry up we're going to miss the movie." Calling to her friends without looking back, Maya made her way to the ticket booth.

"What's up with her Riley?' Gesturing towards the blonde, Zay wanted to know why she was so pissed off. Shaking her head, Riley gave her friends a small smile and began walking after Maya. "Nothing, let's get out tickets before they sell out." The remaining teens looked towards one another and all shrugged before following the brunette.

Once the tickets had been bought, the group made their way into the theater. Having made a plan with Farkle beforehand, Zay quickly scanned the area for the perfect seats. Upon finding them Zay motioned Farkle and the two teens quickly made their way leaving their friends to catch up. Once Lucas and the girls arrived at the seats they instantly noticed the 'arrangements'. Only three seats were left in the entire row. Quickly realizing what was happening, Riley quickly made a choice and pulled Lucas into the middle seat before sitting down next to him, effectively only leaving Maya the other spot next to Lucas.

Glaring at her best friend, Maya hated that Riley was taking things this far. With a loud scoff, Maya took her seat next to Lucas making sure she was leaned away from the teen as she awaited the movie to begin.


	25. Chapter 25

"Back off cowboy, before you get hurt." Glaring daggers at the teen in front of her, Maya Hart balled up her fists as she threatened the Texan. Having had enough of his games, the blonde finally broke her silence. The whole night has been a complete disaster in the blonde's eyes. Having argued with Riley over attending their little 'group night' had been just the beginning of a very frustrating night for the blonde.

Their idiot friends had decided it would be a grand idea to make Lucas and the girls sit together. And Riley, sweet sweet Riley had taken it up a notch by forcing Lucas onto the middle seat, leaving the blonde with no choice but to sit right next to him. Before the movie even began things got worse. Throughout the previews and coming attractions, Lucas and Riley kept whispering and giggling to themselves. They had been giving off the appearance of a couple on a date. Maya absolutely hated that. If they were going to act all 'cutesy' then they should've just gone to the movies alone instead of dragging their friends to watch their obnoxious flirting.

Things only escalated from there. From Lucas and Riley sharing snacks to shifting towards each other in their seats, they seemed to not care that they were supposed to be there as friends. Maya hadn't even wanted to show up but had been forced to. Now that she was there it was like she was invisible and the only thing that mattered was Lucas and Riley. As the seconds turned into minutes Maya's rage increased.

Around halfway through the movie, the blonde had enough. Having decided she wasn't wanted there, the blonde stood on her feet and exited the theater and walked outside of the building. As she found herself walking towards her house the blonde felt a strong tug on her arm keeping her from moving any further. Due to the strong and sudden force, the blonde's body was forcefully turned in the direction of her 'attacker'.

"Watch it punk!" Shouting at the figure, Maya found herself glaring daggers at the person now in front of her. As her eyes adjusted to the figure in her sights, Maya Hart felt her heart stop for a second as a result of what she saw. Tall, good looking and the source of her rage. Huckleberry, Ranger Rick, Sundance, Bucky Mcboing boing, Cowboy. Many names described this one person, however only one that truly mattered. That name was Riley's Lucas. He was now and had always been Riley's, and the night's events had confirmed it in her mind.

Turning away from the Texan, Maya began trying to escape his grasp in order to get home. However just like that day back in Texas, the blonde failed to make any sort of headway in escaping the much taller and stronger teen.

"Maya, talk to me." Looking down upon his blonde friend, Lucas pleaded with her. After her sudden outburst and exit of the theater, Lucas expected Riley to go after the blonde, however the brunette had quickly turned towards Lucas with pleading eyes asking him to go after Maya in her stead. "Maya please!"

Having finally had enough the blonde pushed Lucas off her. "Back off cowboy, before you get hurt." Glaring daggers at the boy, Maya Hart was fuming with rage. Enough was enough and she was sick and tired of the stupid cowboy's damn games. "Maya..." Slowly reaching his hand out to the blonde, Lucas could feel the emotion in her voice and it worried him.

Slapping his hand away, the blonde backed off a few steps, further distancing herself from the Texan. "Save it Lucas, I don't need your stupid pity." After a few weeks of ignoring Lucas, finally speaking to him was taking its toll on the blonde as she struggled to maintain a composed breath. With light red eyes, Maya Hart glared at the boy she had feelings for and swung her fist towards him.

Having put her full strength into her fists, Maya was more than surprised when Lucas Friar easily caught her fist. Looking at his face Maya saw a look that showed he was not shocked by her attack. "Maya I thought we were past this. I don't pity you whatsoever. I'm here because you're my friend and I care about you." Bring her fist down, Lucas glanced into the blonde's eyes as a way to show his sincerity. His efforts however were in vain, as the blonde took another swing at him, this time barely missing its mark on Lucas' face. Having not expected a second attack Lucas was almost too slow to react.

"Care?! You care?! Don't make me laugh Lucas. Do you take me for a fool? How can you stand there and claim that you care when you spent weeks and weeks ignoring Riley and I and treating us like nothing?!" Shoving Lucas, Maya glared her now moist eyes on the teen. "Maya…... I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? Well that just makes everything better then. We are not 5 years old Lucas a simple 'sorry' doesn't cut it anymore. You just waltz back into our lives and I'm supposed to be waiting with open arms." Turning her face away from Lucas, the blonde found herself failing to control her tears from spilling out of her eyes. "I… I'm trying to make things right between us." Taking a step closer to the girl, Lucas had expected this conversation, he had just not expected it to affect him this much.

Wrapping her arms around herself, Maya set her gaze upon the floor. "Trying? Is that what you call it? Is that what you call calling me names? Is that what you call inviting your so called friends to a movie night only to spend the whole damn night flirting with Riley…."

"Maya…. I didn't realize." Scoffing at his words, the blonde was not surprised at all. "Of course you didn't. You and Riley are perfect together. You're at your best when your together, and can effortlessly connect like you've known each other your whole life's. That's the way it's always been and always will be." Sighing softly, Maya Hart poured out a few fragments of the pain that had plagued her for weeks. Pulling his arms completely back, Lucas was stung by her words. However, he knew he had been a fool for thinking this could all go on without a hitch. "I just want to make things right Maya, with all of you especially you and Riley. I messed up, but I'm here now, doesn't that count for anything?'

Gripping her arms even tighter around herself, many tears fell down the face of the beautiful blonde. "You left Lucas…. I trusted you. You were my friend, someone I cared for, someone I held in a very high regard, and you left. You left me without a second thought. You left me like I was nothing to you. Just like he…..." Getting choked up on her words, Maya Hart turned away from the Texan and sped away from the scene as quickly as possible.

Standing all alone in a deserted sidewalk Lucas Friar felt like the worst human being possible. It had all come together. It all made sense. Maya had put her trust in Lucas. He was one of the few people she had let in emotionally, and the only guy she had put herself out there emotionally for. She had done all that for him, and Lucas repaid her by leaving her. Maya had gone against her instincts and let Lucas in, and all he did was abandon her. Just like…. Just like her Father had. It was at that moment that Lucas realized he was no better than her father. He had abandoned a scared girl who wanted nothing more than to feel wanted. He was absolute scum. Walking towards the outer wall of a nearby building, Lucas chucked his back into the building as he slid down to the floor. For a few minutes Lucas sat in complete silence as Maya's teary face and words replayed in his mind.

"Lucas…." Snapping out of his mind, Lucas looked up to see a pretty brunette, Riley Matthews. Not feeling worthy of her gaze, Lucas cast his eyes downward onto the pavement. Seeing his glum expression, Riley instantly knew things had gone horribly wrong. Sliding down next to the teen, Riley bit her lip as she tried to figure out what words to say. As she struggled to come up with any words, Lucas beat her to the punch. "She hates me Riley…... She hates me because I'm just like her father. I abandoned her when she needed me just like he did. I don't deserve anything from her or you…."

Just like it had for Lucas, in a single second everything clicked for Riley Matthews, she instantly understood the blonde's relentless attempt to distance herself from him. Her 'ultimatum' had been nothing but an excuse as to not draw any unwanted attention as to why she was acting that way towards him. Once more, Riley felt like a horrible friend for not being able to see what was going on with her best friend, with her sister. Looking up at the New York sky, Riley wished that she could fix things like she always did, she wished things would go back to the way they once were. Wrapping her arms around herself due to the chilly New York night, Riley found herself unconsciously leaning up against the Texan. Due to her new-found closeness, Lucas felt Riley shivering against him. Not thinking much of it, Lucas draped an arm around the brunette's shoulders as he held her for warmth.

This was the sight that Saturday night, two teens sitting side by side huddled together each adorned with hurt expressions. This sight remained for quite some time until Lucas decided it was time for the brunette to head on home and walked her to her apartment.


	26. Chapter 26

"Maya?" After having arrived home, Riley Matthews went up to her room for some needed relaxation. Things had taken an 'interesting' turn at the theatre. Originally thinking this night would help Lucas and Maya get closer, all it accomplished was creating a bigger and much more noticeable rift. As she walked into her room and tossed her sweater onto her bed a small shadow was illuminated by New York street lights. There sitting solemnly on the bay window was her best friend Maya Hart. After hearing what Lucas said when she found him, Riley expected Maya to want to be alone. Her appearance in her bedroom at their bay window was shocking to the brunette.

Realizing the importance of her being at the bay window, Riley walked over to the blonde and took a seat next to her. "You okay peaches?" After a couple of seconds of complete silence, Riley heard the blonde take a deep breath before beginning speaking. "I'm sorry Riley." A sense of extreme confusion overcame the brunette. Why was Maya apologizing? If anything Riley should be the one apologizing for forcing her to attend the night's events.

Understanding her confusion, the blonde elaborated her apology. "I ruined your night with Lucas." Gripping the fabric of her jeans the blonde glanced sideways at her best friend hoping Riley wouldn't be too angry at her. In her mind, her little 'outburst' had completely ruined Riley's night. She hated the way Riley and Lucas were acting but at the end of the day she still loved Riley. She hated doing anything that would in any way be against her. Her exit of the theatre and rant on Lucas well were deserved in her mind, but they still ruined the others night, especially Riley's.

"Peaches, you didn't ruin anything." Fully facing the blonde, Riley spoke to her words of truth. In Riley's mind, Maya hadn't ruined anything. Maya had done nothing wrong. The only person who should be apologizing was herself. She had forced Maya to go with them. She had forced Maya to sit next to Lucas. Worst of all she had made no effort to include Maya in her and Lucas' conversations. All Riley had been worried about at that moment was the joy she was feeling of having Lucas back into their lives like before everything happened.

Leaning back onto the glass, the blonde let out a deep sigh. "Riley…. I tried to punch Lucas." Widening her eyes Riley Matthews stared at her best friend. Lucas had not mentioned what had gone down between them. Riley knew Maya must've done or said something harsh based on how she found Lucas. However, she never expected Maya to take that route with her frustrations. "Wh…What?" She surely must've heard wrong, there was no way Maya would try and hit Lucas. Maya liked Lucas, she truly cared for him. Why would she attack him? Even if she was frustrated with what was going on, Riley didn't believe that would happen.

"I warned him to leave me alone… He didn't listen and tried reaching out his hand towards me. So… So I threw a punch at him. The stupid cowboy caught it though. I…. I'm kind of glad he did. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I had actually hurt him. I was just mad; I didn't mean it… I didn't mean what I said…" Biting her lip at the blonde's words, Riley felt scared to hear what Maya had said to Lucas. Based on the few words Lucas had said Riley could guess along the lines of what Maya had said, however she couldn't be sure. Even though she was scared to know, she had to know. "What did you say Maya?"

Letting out an exasperated sigh, the blonde softly hit banged the back of her head onto the glass. "I broke down a bit. I accused him of leaving me just like my dad…..." Opening her eyes, Maya Hart glanced at her best friend. "How much did I mess up? How bad is it?" Taking her best friend's hand, the brunette gave her a small smile. "Well…... he was a bit down in the dumps when I saw him. He seemed to take what you said very seriously. Knowing Lucas, he truly believes he failed you like your father." Seeing the apologetic look in the blonde's eyes, Riley squeezed her hand to reassure her. "But, knowing Lucas he will forgive you and hear you out if that's what you want. Trust me peaches, just talk to him and things will be fine."

Looking up at her best friend, Maya Hart bit her lip as she looked towards her with uncertainty in her eyes. "Promise?" Pulling her into a deep hug, Riley Matthews held her close and she softly nodded. "I promise peaches." As the girls settled comfortably into their seats, the mood visibly relaxed. While time passed, the blonde felt much better about talking to the teen. She knew talking to Lucas was the right thing to do. She felt incredibly guilty for lashing out at him, especially for comparing him to her father. "Riles. Could you tell Lucas to meet me at Topanga's tomorrow? I'm too nervous to reach out to him myself." Nodding in reply, the brunette sat up straight. "Of course Maya."


	27. Chapter 27

"Lucas, come on man snap out of it." Looking down upon his oldest friend Izaah Babineaux saw how much the teen was making things worse by thinking about them. After getting together the next day to figure what had happened at the movies, Lucas had softly spoken to them about the events. He shared Maya's actions and words with his friends. And Lucas being the type of person he is, began overthinking everything he had done concerning the blonde. The more he thought about it the more in his mind he agreed with the blonde's statement. "I abandoned her Zay. I hated her father for hurting her, I despised that man for not being able to see what a great person he left. In the end I'm no better than he is. How could I leave her like that man? I knew Maya had trust issues, I knew Maya had abandonment issues. I knew the only thing Maya feared was not being good enough, yet my actions hit every single one of her weak points. My actions confirmed her fears." As he spoke the teen walked back and forth the length of his room, with every word his steps grew heavier.

Having known Lucas for practically his whole life, Zay began feeling nervous. Lucas was usually very composed with his emotions. Even when things got to him the teen would simply stay still and ponder things. His current actions frightened the teen. The only times Lucas paced back and forth in that manor was when he was about to break. Lucas was known as being a tough kid. However, everyone has a breaking point. Being his oldest friend Zay had seen his breaking point before. It was a rare sight, but a frightening one. "Lucas you're nothing like that scumbag." Deciding it best to try and reason with the teen than to leave him to his own thoughts Zay voiced his opinion.

Scoffing at his oldest friend Lucas didn't even give him a glance as he continued his pacing. "She loved him, she trusted him. She wanted nothing more than to have him in her life. What does he do? He leaves." As he spoke Lucas' fists slowly tensed up with each word. "She liked me, I was one of the few people she trusted. She wanted to build a relationship with me. Now tell me Zay, what did I do?" Finally balling his fists up completely the teen turned and threw a strong punch towards his bedroom wall creating a hole in the wall. "I left man…... I abandoned her."

"Lucas… You did what you thought was right at the moment. Riley understands that and so will Maya. She just needs time." Despite fearing for his own safety, Zay took a few steps toward the angry teen. "Maya cares a lot about you man, she'll come around. Trust me, I've seen the way the 'blonde beauty' looks at you, even after you came back into our lives. She may have reserved anger due to the situation but that doesn't mean she cares about you any less."

Sitting on the floor of his bedroom, Lucas Friar grabbed his head as a loud groan filled the room. "You didn't see what I saw Zay. The way she looked at me when I tried to touch her. She was afraid of me. I hurt her, I abandoned her and now she's afraid of what else I might do. If she feels that way what's to say Riley doesn't have some repressed anger of her own." With each word the Texas Native dropped his head until his gaze was directly at the floor looking down in shame. "There is no way Riley is as okay with things as she tries to make me believe. There's just no way. I knew that just coming back like that wasn't going to be that easy. Seeing Maya's reaction just confirmed that. Riley's too nice to say anything but if Maya is feeling that way Riley has to feel something similar."

Slowly taking a seat near his friend Izaah Babineaux tried his hardest to find the right words to say. He had never been the type of guy to be good at giving advice. He had never been the one to know what the right thing to say was. But this was Lucas Friar, his oldest and closest friend. Lucas was like a brother to him and just like Lucas had always had his back Zay needed to return the favor. "Talk to them Lucas. I can tell how much those girls mean to you. So talk to them. Let them get everything off their chests, then try and work something out." Biting the inside of his cheek Zay wanted to end their, however he couldn't help but continue. "Lucas, you need to make a choice man." As soon as the words left his mouth, Zay instantly regretted them as Lucas' head snapped up and glared towards him.

As he took in the seriousness in Lucas' eyes, Zay scooted away from the teen. "Look man this has nothing to do with the teasing over the girls I've done before. This is about me worrying about my closest friends. You obviously like both of those girls and have feelings for them. Which girl you have stronger feelings for is another thing. But you need to figure it out. Because pretending you three are fine with just being friends is stupid. I see the excitement and passion in your eyes when you tease Maya. I see the joy and comfort when Riley is around you. And most of all I see how they can't tear their eyes away from you." Lifting himself onto his feet, Zay walked around the room in order to place some distance in between him and Lucas. "The longer you three drag this out the harder it'll be to cope with one of you finding someone else. You're like my brother Lucas but those girls won't wait forever. If you can't be there for them in the way they want you to be, sooner or later someone will come along who will. It's just better to figure things out now."

Hoping up onto his feet, Lucas deeply sighed. "How the hell am I supposed to figure that out Zay?" Looking at his friend, Zay shook his head in disbelief. "Talk to them Lucas. One on one. See what they want from you, and ask yourself if you could give it to that particular girl. Just have a good heart to heart with each of them, then you'll know which one if any of them you feel the same way for."

As the Texas teen stood thinking over his best friend's words of advice for him his cell phone buzzed in his pocket. After retrieving his phone Lucas observed he had received a text message from his 'pretty brunette'. After reading over the message Lucas once more dropped onto the floor. Looking up at his concerned friend's face Lucas let out a soft sigh. "Riley says Maya wants to talk to me."


	28. Chapter 28

I will start by apologizing for the lack of updates the last few months. Nothing major happened it was minor things but enough that set me back. My bedroom was reorganized and for the moment I am without a desk and am forced to write on bed. That wouldn't be a big deal but in bed laziness is much easier to overcome me since i'm already there instead of having to leave the desk to rest which had upped my productivity back when I had a desk. Second some stuffs been happening around the house so for about 2 or 3 weeks my laptop was not turned on at all. My final obstacles were first, the fact that I hadn't written in a while made sitting down for long periods of time writing seem like a task instead of something fun, so it took me a while to get back into the groove of things. Finally, during this time I also got an idea I really liked for another story (not fanfic). Those of you who write know that for certain ideas unless you do something with them you can't think of anything else. This is what happened to me, I would sit down and try to write for this story, end up writing one line then instantly think of something for my other one and head to that file and leave this one unattended. Finally after weeks of research and thought I put enough work into that story where I could relax and focus on other things, which is why I was able to finish this. Anyway, If any of you are still interested you will find that apart from this all of the remaining chapters have been posted, so no more waiting for this story. At the end of this you will also find an explanation as to why I went with the couple that I did, for those who are upset at that but are willing to hear me out. Anyway, hope this update isn't too late and some of you still enjoy and want this story if so thank you for your patience.

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The sound of rapid tapping echoed through the nearly empty park. Fidgeting nervously in her seat, a beautiful blonde tapped her foot against the ground as she looked around waiting for a certain someone's arrival. As she continuously glanced at her watch, the blonde impatiently waited. Her impatience and nervousness were due to a simple reason. She knew that this conversation was one that needed to happen, however she was terrified of what it could mean. Her usual confident persona had been shattered due to recent events. She used to always face anything head on with no fear of repercussions. Maya Hart truly lived the rebel life. However, recently she had begun to be more emotional, more irrational, more impulsive all things the blonde hated. To her being impulsive was a good thing, however her recent emotions made her impulsiveness become more uncharacteristic of the blonde.

Due to this, the blonde had been unable to contact Lucas herself in order to have a much needed discussion. Her fear had overcome her. The fear that he instilled in her. Being unable to reach out to him herself, the blonde fell to asking her best friend and rival of the Texan's affection to contact him for her. It was a stupid move but it was the only move she had. Now a day after her breakdown at the theater, the blonde sat impatiently on a bench at the local park waiting for the arrival of the Texan. It had been ten minutes since Lucas was supposed to have arrived and his tardiness was worsening the blonde's nerves. However, the only thing the blonde could do was wait. Riley would kill her if she left, and she was too scared to message Lucas to see if he was coming or not. Because of this the only thing the blonde could do was wait.

After another ten or so minutes waiting, the blonde's nerves got the better of her. Not being able to take any more the blonde stood and turned around to walk away from the park. Stopping dead in her tracks the blonde's eyes fell onto the form of Lucas Friar sitting in a bench to the back of her a few meters away. As she focused on the teen Maya was able to see he was sitting there intently looking towards her. Getting upset the blonde marched over to the teen. "What the hell Lucas?! How long have you been sitting here?"

Looking nervously at the angry blonde, the Texas teen rubbed the back of his head while avoiding eye contact. "Um…. A while…" Having arrived at the specific time they had arranged Lucas wasn't lying. Upon his arrival Lucas had instantly spotted the blonde. Seeing her sitting there waiting for him scared him. He was afraid of what this conversation would change for better or worse. Because of this, Lucas found himself sitting for almost half an hour just watching the blonde trying to find the strength to go talk to her. Now here she was incredibly angry at him and he didn't blame her.

"A while!? Why did you just let me wait like an idiot Lucas?" Maya was fuming in anger. She had spent the better part of thirty minutes waiting for Lucas. During that time, she was feeling like the world was ending due to the suspense. During all that Lucas had just sat there and watched her? How could he be so cruel? "Why Lucas?" Looking away from the blonde in total guilt, the teen sighed. "I was scared…."

"Huh?" Had she heard him correctly, Lucas Friar afraid? No, that couldn't be. "Why would you be afraid?" Looking at the boy in front of her Maya was confused as to why he would be afraid. The only time she had ever seen him afraid was when they signed him up to ride tombstone. Even then he got over it and conquered the beast. Apart from that Maya couldn't see Lucas be in fear of anything. He was a strong, kind and all around great guy. Why would he fear anything?

Swallowing his pride Lucas Friar look up at the girl in front of him and took a deep breath. "I'm afraid of what this conversation will cause." As Maya studied the teen's expression she was able to understand how serious this was to Lucas. He truly seemed afraid of being there talking to her. "What could it cause Lucas?" Taking a seat next to the Texas teen, the blonde watched the scared boy with an equal amount of fear of his response.

Glancing sideways at the beautiful blonde on his right, Lucas Friar felt more fear than he had ever felt before in his life. "I'm afraid of hurting you. I'm afraid of being like your father. But most of all I'm afraid of losing you."


	29. Chapter 29

"I'm afraid of losing you." Those words echoed through the mind of the blonde for several silent minutes as she tried to comprehend what he was saying. As soon as he had begun to speak Maya had wanted to speak up against his claims of being like her father. She had wanted to apologize for her comments and let him know he was nothing like that man. However, before she could utter a word Lucas continued and let out those five simple words. "Wh... What?"

"Maya, ever since our Texas trip whenever we talk things don't end well. Every single time I talk to you, I hurt you. No matter what I say or what my intentions are my words hurt you. I don't want to continue that and finish loosing you." At the sound of his words, Maya fell completely speechless. Here she was having been ready to rip Lucas apart for standing her up. She had failed in considering what might've been going on through the boy's mind during all of this. Maya knew Lucas had his reasons for doing what he did, however she had never truly bothered trying to understand them. She had just brushed them aside in favor of what she was feeling. "Lu…. Lucas?"

"Maya, when you confessed your feelings for me I didn't offer support, I didn't offer reassurance, I simply further increased your guilt and fears. When I talked to both you and Riley about our relationships I ended up pushing you girls away and abandoning you…" Clearing his throat Lucas did his best to continue his explanation while holding back his own emotions. "Every time you girls put any sort of hope in me I take it and I crush it. So tell me Maya, Why? Why do you two still care for me? What do you girls see in me? What possible reason could there be for why you two don't hate me?"

As she looked upon the teen, Maya's heart broke. She couldn't take seeing him this way, so… so defeated. Maya wasn't dumb she knew Lucas had a valid point, however she also knew that no matter what happened she could never bring herself to hate Lucas Friar. This was a certainty to the blonde. "Lucas… We... I know you would never do anything to intentionally hurt us. Yes, you have cause us some pain I can't lie about that. However, it was all the effect of good intentions. You care about Riley and I, you've made that clear. I know the reason you haven't picked one of us, I know the reason you've made the choices you've made is because you don't want to be responsible for anything bad happening between me and Riley. We're still kids Lucas. We have and will continue making choices with good intentions that end up backfiring. We're kids and we're dumb. Riley likes you Lucas…. I like you…. We like the great guy that always looks out for us, we like the great guy who wants nothing but our happiness. We like you Lucas. Nothing has changed that. No matter what stupid things I said…... I was just mad and frustrated… and a little bit jealous. I'm sorry for what I said, you are nothing like that man, You're nothing like my Father."

As Lucas head stayed stuck looking downwards his shoulders visibly relaxed for a few seconds before tensing up once more. "Maya…. You may have been angry, but you still meant what you said. During that moment of anger, you truly felt I was just like him." Stepping forward Maya threw her hands around Lucas' neck as she placed her head on his shoulder stunning the Texas teen. "Maya?"

Keeping her arms tightly around the teen, the blonde spoke softly into Lucas' shoulder. "Lucas I like you… I like you a lot. For almost two years I sat by and watched my best friend get the cute guy we saw on the subway. For one of those years I was even fine with it. It was just a physical thing till then it was just a dumb crush. Rebel Maya Hart crushing on the cute popular jock. But you just had to go and ruin everything…. You had to actually be a good guy. You just had to actually care about me…. You had to be everything I had secretly hoped for… After that seeing you with Riley day after day crushed me. Then Texas happened... Since then knowing there was even a slight chance you may have feelings for me brought so much joy to my heart while at the same time giving me the most to fear. You scare me Lucas… Not because you're a bad guy, not because I don't trust you. You scare me because whenever I'm around you I feel so vulnerable… because around you I don't know what to do. You scare me because when I'm around you I find myself hoping for things I normally wouldn't." As the blonde fought back the tears in her eyes she found herself tensing up slightly as she felt Lucas' arms wrapping themselves around her waist and pulling her closer towards him.

After a few seconds Maya fell into the comfort of his arms and greatly relaxed, enjoying being in his arms. Both teens found themselves lost in the moment as seconds turned into minutes. "Hey Lucas?" Finally breaking the silent but comfortable moment, a certain short blonde kept her arms tightly around the neck of the boy. "Yea?" Seemingly enjoying the moment as much as the blonde, Lucas Friar softly mumbled into her shoulder. With Maya being so small, Lucas easily had his arms wrapped completely around the blonde and showed no sign of letting go anytime soon. Nuzzling her head into the side of his neck, the 'blonde beauty' contently sighed. "If Riley didn't like you would you even consider someone like me?"

Her question left the teen slightly taken back. After taking a few seconds to get his mind back into order, Lucas pulled Maya further into his embrace. "Maya Penelope Hart, how could you even ask that? We are in this mess because of that. I do have feelings for Riley…. However, I also have feelings for you. I have different feelings for both of you. So to answer your dumb question, if Riley felt nothing for me and I felt nothing for her, then yes. In fact, if that were the case I would've asked you out on that dumb subway the day we met."

Biting her lip in response to his straight forward answer, Maya felt her nervousness increase dramatically. "Really?" A light chuckle was the response that reached the blonde's ears leaving her confused. "Maya when you came up to me and did your little 'rant' it was the single most incredible thing I had ever seen. Seeing a beautiful, confident girl just striding past me and being so amusing. If you hadn't pushed Riley into me I would've gotten up and gone to talk to you. Seeing you pushing Riley towards made me think you weren't interested in me, so I decided not to dwell on thing and got to know Riley."

Slightly pulling back to face him the blonde nervously looked at him. "But you did develop feelings for her way before you did for me, that's got to say something." Sighing softly at her words the Texas teen looked the blonde in the eyes. "Maya for a full year you basically made fun of me. Only until my second year here did you start opening up to me. Until then all I knew about Maya Hart was that she was a beautiful rebel who loved to poke fun of my Texas roots. But when I began to know you, when I began to understand you it was hard not to fall for someone like that. Someone I could connect to, a troubled past with a new look on life. It made me care for you so much more."

As the blonde listened to his explanation her heart rate increased even more as warmness enveloped her body. "Lucas…... I like you…" Four simple words. Four simple words that left the blonde's lips. These words made an identical warmness envelop the Texan. It was due to these words that everything made sense. These words let the teen know what the right thing to do for his heart was. It let him know that he had to choose and that he wanted to choose. Moving one hand onto the blonde's neck, Lucas softly pulled her closer to him a planted a soft short kiss onto the blonde's lips.

Being completely shocked by his actions the blonde stayed frozen during the whole thing and simply stared wide eyed at her long time crush. "Lu... Lucas?" Chuckling at her expression the teen smiled and looked deeply into her eyes. "I like you too Maya. And I choose you"


	30. Chapter 30

"So what now Maya? The ball's in your court. Make a move." After a few minutes of awkwardly sitting next to each other, the Texas teen grew tired of waiting and decided to just be blunt. "I like you, I want to be with you. So is anything going to come out of this or not?" Biting her lip, the blonde beauty gazed at her fumbling hands nervously. "Lucas, I don't want to hurt Riley…...'

"I know and neither do I Maya. But you have to remember this was mostly Riley's idea. Since you both liked me she felt the only fair thing was for me to choose and the other girl would have to be okay with it. I want you Maya. And just because you reject me doesn't mean I'll choose Riley. I respect her too much to have her be my second choice. If you give up on me then fine, but Riley will eventually find out. She loves you and wants you to be happy just like you would've been happy for her if I would've chosen her, am I right?"

Facing the teen, Maya Hart thought about Riley's reaction to her giving up on Lucas and realized he was right. She wouldn't be happy about Maya giving up her happiness for her. "Riley would want me to be happy… She always has. You make me happy Lucas." Placing his hand over hers, Lucas Friar scooted closer to the blonde. "And you make me happy Maya. So I have a question for you. Maya Penelope Hart, will you be my girlfriend?"

Nodding softly at his question, the blonde gave the answer she wanted and Riley would want her to give. "Yes Lucas, I'll be your girlfriend." Both teens felt immense joy and found themselves leaning against each other simply enjoying each other's company. After a few minutes the teens began talking about how things would change from then on. This conversation led them to realize that this new relationship was not one that could be kept private. Therefore, the teens decided it was best they got the word out before anyone else did.

Once the decision had been mutually reached, the two teens found themselves embarked on an urgent task. The task of informing all of their close friends and family of their newfound relationship. Coming to the mutual agreement to get the easiest people out of the way first, the teens headed towards Izaah Babineaux and Farkle Minkus. Both great friends of the teens and would undoubtedly understand and be supportive. For their part upon hearing the news, Zay and Farkle were ecstatic. Neither wanted to see either girl get hurt, however they were glad the whole mess was finally over and thanked the new couple for finally ending the mess that was their friendships at the moment.

After the friends came the slightly harder people, the parents. Lucas insisted that his parents could wait much to Maya's protests. Finally relenting Lucas escorted Maya to his apartment where they proceeded to reveal their new arrangement with Lucas' mother, who seemed overjoyed as she had loved Maya's fiery attitude upon their first meeting. Since Lucas' father was 'away' the couple headed to Maya's apartment where they once again explained everything only this time to Maya's mother. Katy was thrilled in hearing about her daughter's new boyfriend as she had always liked Lucas. Wishing them the best, the older blonde waved goodbye to the teens as they headed towards their final destination the Matthews residence.

Once at the apartment, the pair pulled Corey and Topanga close and shared the current events. Although shocked and sad that their precious Riley would be crushed the pair was nonetheless happy for Maya, as they felt the girl deserved some happiness in her life.

After what seemed like years the pair finally grew the courage and entered their most feared grounds, Riley Matthews' bedroom. Heading straight towards the brunette sitting at the bay window, the pair took a deep breath as Maya sat next to her best friend. "Riles, we need to talk." Despite what people assumed due to her bubbly and clumsy nature, Riley Matthews was an incredibly smart girl. Instantly piecing everything together, the brunette set down the book in her hands as she let out a deep sigh. "Peaches it's okay, I get it." Squeezing her hand reassuringly, the blonde bit her lip in nervousness. "Riles…" Trying her best to appear calm and collected, the brunette avoided Lucas' gaze and set her eyes towards her lap. "Both of you coming to my room wanting to talk. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what's going on, especially considering you two were scheduled to have a serious talk. It just makes sense."

"I'm sorry Riles…." Instantly hating herself, Maya unconsciously began squeezing Riley's hand with more force. Noticing her tone and her grip, Riley pulled the blonde into her arms. "Maya don't ever be sorry. You deserve to be happy just as much if not more than I do. He makes you happy and that's all that should matter. I'll be okay, above all I'm your best friend remember? It's me and you forever. There is nothing you could ever do to change that."

Pulling away from their hug, the brunette forced herself to set her eyes upon Lucas Friar. The boy of her dreams, her perfect prince. Her fantasy life had now crumbled to the ground. Before being able to let out any words of her own, Riley was startled by Lucas kneeling in front of her and taking her hands. "Riley, you mean the world to me. You still are and will continued to my closest and most reliable friend. You accepted me when I was a stranger, you showed me the kind of a different life I could live. If it weren't for you I would most likely have ended up the same way as I did back in Texas. You are incredibly special to me. You are a princess and a goofball. You Riley Matthews, are simply amazing." Kissing one of her hands, Lucas Friar sighed as he basically said goodbye to a part of his life. "Princess Riley Matthews and Mr. Perfect Lucas Friar are perfect for each other. They complement each other and simply make sense." Being focused on Riley, Lucas noticed her shaking at his latest words. However, he failed to noticed his newfound girlfriend's uncomfortable reaction as she watched the exchange. Maya however held back all comments as she knew this all had a purpose, because of this she choose to wait things out.

"The only problem with that is that I'm not Mr. Perfect. You are a princess but I don't fulfill my role. Despite what my classmates may believe, and what you may wish I am not perfect. What I did in Texas proves that. And I know what you will say, that's just my past and part of a different me. But you must realize that may be my past but that part of me is still very much alive inside. You witnessed that firsthand when Billy bullied Farkle, when Zay was bullied and when even you were bullied. I may be 'nice guy' Lucas Friar now, but perfect I'm not. And my imperfections don't fit in with you, with us. This is all obvious when seeing your reaction to 'Texas Lucas'. You downright hate that part of me, and with good reason. But at the end of the day that's still me. You hate a part of what makes me, me. You can't accept me fully. You are who the Mr. Perfect me should be with. However, I'm not that person. Knowing that, I can't be with you. I love you Riley, I do. But you deserve someone who can be the prince you wish for. And I deserve someone who is accepting of every single part of me not just the good. I seem to have found someone who is that for me, and I know you will find your prince. Because a princess like you deserves a real prince."

Riley Matthews was in complete tears by the time Lucas finished speaking. Throwing her arms around the boy, the brunette sobbed into his shoulder. Riley loved Lucas, that she was certain of. However, upon hearing his words Riley knew he was right. She had always wanted a perfect prince and had tried to mold Lucas into that. Upon seeing him for the first time she kept hoping he was perfect and kept getting her way until she didn't. Once Lucas' imperfections came to light, Riley became different choosing to wash away the bad in hopes it would go away and leave her with her perfect prince. Choosing to live in her fantasy in denial of the truth Riley tried keeping her views on Lucas the same. No matter how much she wished, those imperfections remained. Because of her inability to accept this, she ended up not accepting Lucas as a whole and ended up losing him to someone who had. It all made sense. Riley Matthews had Lucas Friar. He was hers and was happy about it. By refusing to accept his past, Riley ended up not accepting Lucas as a whole. Ever since the day his past was revealed their relationship had been slightly strained and her refusal of acknowledging it simply worsened that strain.

Maya had done what Riley couldn't. Maya Hart accepted Lucas in his Mr. Perfect side which she loved to poke fun of but nonetheless accepted him as a dear friend. When his past and his anger were revealed Maya easily accepted that part of him and even got closer to him. Knowing Lucas wasn't so perfect made Maya more comfortable around him and heightened their friendship. While with Riley it just strained their already awkward relationship. No matter how much it pained her, Riley Matthews knew that at the end of the day the girl that was perfect for Lucas was not her, it was Maya Hart. The fiery blonde, the 'blonde beauty' who never held Lucas up to any standards and no matter what accepted him as a person as a whole. Maya deserved Lucas and Lucas deserved Maya.

After the tearful conversation with the brunette, the new couple left the Matthews residence hand in hand as they wandered the city streets. "Lucas…. Are you sure about this? You have no regrets right?" Not comprehending the idea of being chosen over Riley the blonde shyly questioned the Texan.

At her ridiculous question, the 'cowboy' spun the blonde around to face him as he cupped her face much like he did back in that star filled Texas night. "Maya, I want you. It's just that simple. Huckleberry wants his short little stack of pancakes." As the words left his mouth a huge smile adorned the teary face of the blonde. "I want you too Ranger Rick" Smiling back at her words, Lucas Friar slowly leaned in and pressed his lips onto hers. It was a simple but meaningful kiss. Soft yet passionate. It gave off the simple message from each person. 'I want you'.

* * *

Well there you have it, I know for such a long wait only 3 chapters for the end kinda blows but those things kinda happened at a bad time. To answer any questions regarding this, no I didn't decide to finish it early because of the 'break' or because people got upset I was 'dragging things out'. I had originally planned to end it soon-ish when the 'break' happened. So it is what it is. Anyway as to why I went with Lucas x Maya (Lucaya), first of all when I had started this story I had planned to use the show as a sort of reference. If I felt a certain couple felt more believable than the other I would choose that one even if the show differed in opinion. However, the show lingered too much without providing any clear hints or results and by the time I realized that I had written out my story in a way that favored Lucaya too much (not on purpose). Initially I had planned to do only slightly in favor of Lucaya as up to that point in the show there had been more Rucas stuff so I wanted to even it up. But the story took a life of its own and personally found writing Lucaya moments easier than writing Rucas. By the time I realized this it was too late to even out and Lucaya just seemed like a better route instead of actually dragging the story out in a legitimate way to do Rucas, which would be dumb and annoying to the readers. That's the short (not really) version of why I went with Lucaya over Rucas.


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